Vandals have been accused of destroying a farmer's livelihood by tearing up his hemp crop and trying to smoke it because they think it's cannabis.

Nathaniel Loxley claims he's lost about five per cent of his legal crop - the equivalent of £10,000 worth - due to dozens of thieves trying to get high.

Hemp has a similar appearance to the illegal narcotic but contains none of the drug's psychoactive effects.

Vandals are accused of tearing up a farmer's hemp and trying to smoke it, thinking it's cannabis. Nathaniel Loxley claims he caught three men trespassing (left) but they are not the three who have been arrested

Having discovered what they thought to be eight acres of cannabis plants, a group of vandals posted the location online.

Police were subsequently called to the farm in West Sussex and have so far arrested three men.

Mr Loxley said: 'We've lost about five per cent of our crops in a week.

'It's getting ridiculous - there are dozens of people coming here every day.

'Some try and smoke it while others are just stealing it to sell on.

'They can smoke it all they want, there's no chance of getting high.'

Vandals have been caught trampling through the crop, leaving a path of destruction in their wake, and have also left smoking paraphernalia behind them.

Mr Loxley, who owns Hop and Hemp, which uses his crops to make organic tea, caught a group of three men walking through his field of hemp earlier in the week.

Claim: Nathaniel Loxley claims he's lost about five per cent of his legal crop (pictured) - the equivalent of £10,000 worth - due to dozens of thieves trying to get high. Hemp has a similar appearance to cannabis

Industrial hemp: The plant bears no hallucinogenic elements and is known for its medicinal benefits. Mr Loxley, who owns Hop and Hemp, which uses his crops to make organic tea

He said that efforts to get high are 'pretty fruitless' because the plant does not contain THC content.

The plant bears no hallucinogenic elements and is known for its medicinal benefits.

Mr Loxley said: 'There was a lot of curiosity about the crop which lead to some vandalising.

'It's quite disappointing, it's done a fair bit of damage by ripping out plans and putting a path through the crop where they've walked through it.'

The farmer, who is in his first year of production, said: 'It's a big hurdle but it's not going to stop me.'

He hopes to harvest the crop in the next few weeks before it suffers any more damage.

Flattened: Vandals have been caught trampling through the crop, leaving a path of destruction in their wake (pictured), and have also left smoking paraphernalia behind them

Police have arrested three men on suspicion of stealing industrial hemp as well as possession of cannabis

Police have arrested and bailed three men on suspicion of stealing industrial hemp as well as possession of cannabis.

A spokesperson from Sussex Police said: 'Three men, one aged 30 from Littlehampton, one aged 18 from Angmering and one aged 47 from Ilchester, Somerset, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a quantity of industrial hemp which is being grown lawfully under licence in the field.

'Two bags containing hemp were seized.'