A form of cannabis could be used to build carbon-neutral homes of the future, say university researchers.

A form of cannabis could be used to build carbon-neutral homes of the future, say university researchers.

A consortium, led by the BRE centre for innovative construction materials at Bath University, has embarked on a housing project to develop the use of construction materials made of hemp.

Hemp-lime is a lightweight building material made of fibres from the fast-growing cannabis plant, bound together using a lime-based adhesive.

The hemp plant stores carbon during its growth and this, combined with the low carbon footprint of lime and its efficient insulating properties, gives the material a "better than zero carbon" footprint, researchers said.

Professor Pete Walker, director of the BRE centre, said: "We will be looking at the feasibility of using hemp-lime in place of traditional materials, so that they can be used widely in the building industry.

"We will be measuring the properties of lime-hemp materials, such as their strength and durability, as well as the energy efficiency of buildings made of these materials.

"Using renewable crops to make building materials makes real sense - it only takes an area the size of a rugby pitch four months to grow enough hemp to build a typical three bedroom house.

"Growing crops such as hemp can also provide economic and social benefits to rural economies through new agricultural markets for farmers and associated industries."

The three-year project, worth almost £750,000, will collect scientific and engineering data about this new material so it can be more widely used in the UK for building homes.