An abandoned coach house once used as a cannabis factory is being demolished to make way for a 100-bed hotel.

Contractors began knocking down the historic Old Coach House just off the A2 outside Barham earlier this month after developers secured the go-ahead two years ago.

Striking new images of what will replace the 17th Century building - which was raided by police in 2012 - have also been released by developers this week showcasing its contemporary design.

Formerly used by drugs barons to grow hundreds of cannabis plants, the demolished coach house, which sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, stood derelict for a number of years after it closed as a hotel.

When approving the plans for the new three-storey hotel, the city council looked favourably upon the design, stating it would “likely enhance” the character of the area.

It also applauded proposed features similar to those of the Old Coach House - which was rated as two-star accommodation.

Developers had gained outline planning permission in December 2010 for the refurbishment and extension of the existing hotel.

But a structural survey found the building had fallen into a bad and unsafe state of disrepair and would be uneconomical to refurbish.

A date for the completion of the new hotel is yet to be confirmed.

In December 2012, police discovered that 10 rooms – which had once housed hotel guests – were lined with silver insulation sheeting and converted into a sophisticated drugs farm.

The gang which ran the factory managed to bypass the electricity meters to power the lights and hydroponics needed to cultivate the 660 illegal plants.

The farm was capable of raking in more than £1.5 million a year for the dealers, Steven Randall and Darren Barber, who were jailed in 2013.