FIVE men, including two from Redditch, have appeared in court accused of conspiring to supply an estimated £5m worth of cannabis.

The five were arrested after the police had stopped two vans in south Warwickshire and Worcestershire which were found to contain cannabis said to have been worth up to £1m.

The joint operation between Warwickshire and West Mercia police forces in April also led to another tonne of the class B drug with a street value put at around £4m being found in a property in Redditch.

Malcolm Masters, 51, of Banners Lane in Redditch, and Keith Langton, 29, of Goodrick Close in Redditch, both pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to conspiring to supply cannabis.

But James Pratt, 27, of Wolverson Road in Walsall, Brian Randall, 58, from Benfleet in Essex and Avinder Brar, 35, of Hayes in Middlesex, all denied the charge.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood said investigations into mobile phone evidence was still under way, and asked for the prosecution to be given six weeks to serve that on the defence.

He pointed out that the court was not able to fix a date for the trial of the three men who had pleaded not guilty until June next year.

Barristers for Masters and Langton said they had entered their pleas on a basis which could not be accepted until a judge has heard the evidence in the trial.

Recorder David Pittaway QC adjourned the case for Pratt, Randall and Brar to stand trial, which is expected to last eight days.

He remanded Masters, Langton and Pratt in custody, but Randall and Brar were both granted bail.