Deep in the heart of the Sussex countryside lurks a jungle beast of unimaginable proportions.

But the giant tiger, which is as long and as wide as a football pitch, is unlikely to cause anyone harm because it is made entirely from maize.

In fact the creature is a maize maze which has been created by the owners of Tulleys Farm at Turners Hill, near Crawley.

It is the fifth year a maze has been grown on the site and the owners have gone for a jungle theme with the attraction designed in the shape of a tiger.

A themed adventure has also been created to keep children amused.

So the story goes, Professor Lostalot is fast on the tail of two of his friends who have crash-landed in the jungle.

He has cut a swathe of paths through the undergrowth but in his haste to find them he has been captured by the pygmies.

Children start at the site of the plane crash and if they make it to the middle they can free a model of Prof Lostalot from his cage.

Stewart Beare, owner of the family-run business, said: "It is cattle maize. We harvest it in October and give it to a local farmer.

"We get the manure back from the cattle to help the crop grow next year. It beats growing cabbages.

"The planning for each season takes about nine months. We sow the crop in April and it is normally about 4ft or 5ft high when we open in July.

"This year it is only about 3ft 6in because of the bad weather we had in June and the early part of July.

"It will get to about 8ft in a few weeks as it grows about 8in a week."

Mr Beare said the farm, which attracts about 35,000 people a year, was one of the first in Britain to develop a maize maze and it took its inspiration from across the Atlantic.

"We look to the USA all the time for what they are doing in our industry. They are about ten years ahead of us with maize mazes.

"The first one was done in Pennsylvania in 1993 in the shape of a stegosaurus because of Jurassic Park.

"It was unbelievable. It was a world record and after that they did one a year for three years.

"We planted our first maize crop in 1997 but it was unsuccessful, partly because the deer ate it and we didn't really know how big it could grow."

Despite their initial failure they linked up with Adrian Fisher, the man responsible for most of the modern mazes in Britain and successfully grew their first maze in 1998, themed around a dragon.

Since then it has become one of the major farm attractions of the South-East with special themed events each year.

Two years ago they created a castle and had damsels in distress leaning out of the makeshift tower.

For further information about opening times and ticket prices, call 01342 717071 or log on to tulleysfarm.com