A SOPHISTICATED cannabis farm has been discovered in the loft of a house.

Police who raided the house smashed up the growing equipment with a hammer to prevent it being used again.

The farm was discovered in Hill Lane, Blackrod, early yesterday. when officers raided the property. They found lamps, heating equipment and a watering system.

Up to 50 plants at a time could be grown there and officers believe that a crop of "skunk" cannabis plants worth thousands of pounds had recently been harvested.

PC Keith Seal, who was involved in the operation, said: "This raid was carried out based on the strength of intelligence that we gathered.

"Inside we found quite a sophisticated hydroponic set-up designed to grow cannabis plants.

"We also discovered the remains of what we believe were recently cut plants. The equipment was seized and some has now been destroyed so it can never be used again."

One neighbour said: "I certainly hadn't suspected anything like this was going on.

"When we saw the police laying all the equipment out on the drive, I didn't realise what it was for. It just looked like the contents of somebody's greenhouse."

Skunk cannabis has risen to notoriety in the last few months amid claims it is 30 times stronger than in the late 1960s and can lead to mental illness and schizophrenia. It is among the most expensive of cannabis variants and can command prices of up to £140 per ounce.

The drugs farm is the second to be discovered in Bolton in the last six weeks. About 400 plants were found in two houses in Bromley Cross early last month.

A sophisticated growing system including lights, fans and heaters had been set up to nurture the plants. The landlord of the two rented houses discovered the plants when he was investigating an electrical fault.

And police seized up to 10,000 cannabis plants from a house in Whitefield earlier this month after being alerted to a possible burglary. It was the second find in the area in less than a week. Firefighters called to a blaze at a property in Nelson Street, Bury, found 250 cannabis plants and 200 heat lamps.

The charity DrugScope estimates that three similar factories are being raided every day by police in Britain as the amount of cannabis grown in the country continues to soar.

  • A 30-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were arrested at the house and are being questioned on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.