ALMOST £80,000 worth of cannabis was found at an ‘extremely professional’ factory inside a terrace house.

Police raided the rented home in Blackburn Road, Darwen, just before midnight on Thursday where they found around 200 mature plants in four separate rooms.

The front door key had been snapped in the lock from the inside and people had been accessing the house by the back door.

The electricity had been bypassed and an elaborate system of funnels, pipes, lighting and heating equipment were hanging down from ceilings.

The factory was spread across two floors, with the dining room and three upstairs bedrooms converted to grow the plants.

The sparse living room, kitchen and bathroom suggested no-one had been living at the property, which is close to the Anchor estate.

No-one was arrested and police are investigating who was behind the set-up.

They are speaking to the owner about his recent tenants.

PC Mo Ravat, from Blackburn Police, said: “As a result of information from the public, we have dismantled an extremely profess-ional cannabis farm and taken thousands of pounds of cannabis off our streets.

“We are committed to tackling drugs and will continue to act on information from the public to red-uce the harm they cause to comm-unities.”

Hundreds of plant pots, fertiliser and other equipment were seized.

Neighbour Shirley Speakman, a 55-year-old child-minder, said: “I just presumed it was empty because I’ve not heard or seen anybody for months.

“I’ve not noticed a smell of cannabis or any suspicious activity.

"It must be a highly sophisticated operation. I’m just astonished I did not know what was going on there.”

Contact police on 0845 1253545 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.