A HUGE cannabis farm with almost £250,000 of plants has been discovered inside a former Burnley church.

Officers discovered the haul of around 600 plants at Burnley Lane Baptist Church and Institute after a tip-off from a member of the public.

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The building’s current landlord said he was ‘shocked to the core’ by the find – one of the biggest in East Lancashire this year.

Police said they were called to the Grade II-listed building after a neighbour spotted someone trying to force entry at around 7pm on Sunday. Crime scene investigators spent all of yesterday removing evidence from the scene, including plants, lamps and tin foil.

Insp Steve Rides said: “We received reports of suspicious activity at 7pm from a neighbour and it looks like somebody was trying to force their way in.

“There were several hundred cannabis plants discovered and we are dismantling them.”

The cannabis was discovered in the former Baptist Sunday School section of the building, which was built on the corner of Colne Road and Hebrew Road in 1845.

Lancashire Telegraph: The church, part of which dates back to 1787, was sold by trustees in 2008 when the Baptist congregation moved to join with the Methodist Church in Briercliffe Road.

Part of the former church hall is now occupied by wholesaler Mezbaan International Foods, whose owner did not want to be named.

He said: “This has come as a bolt from the blue.

“It has shocked me to the core.

“I am the landlord of the whole building and I have been here for the last year.

“I rented that part of the building around four months ago to some guys who wanted to set up a computer business.

“Recently they changed the locks, which made me suspicious, but they continued to pay their rent.

“They seemed like ordinary, respectable people.

“I’m just letting the police do what they need to do and hopefully all’s well that ends well.”

Workers at nearby Plantation Street were also shocked at the discovery of the drugs.

One mechanic said: “The police have been here all day, coming and going.

“All I know is that they found a cannabis farm, but I’ve never seen anyone going in and out of that part of the building.”

Daneshouse with Stoneyholme councillor, Shah Hussain, said he was ‘disgusted’ that drugs were being cultivated in a former place of worship.

The Labour member said: “It’s shocking to know that this kind of activity is happening in a church, of all places. It is disgraceful.

“It’s good to hear that the police acted upon the tip-off and I hope they are able to bring the culprits to face the law.

“I am very, very shocked and surprised and I just hope the police are able to prosecute those who are responsible and that it will act as a deterrent to others.”

A planning application to convert the site into an education and training social enterprise was lodged by Syed Ali of the Blackburn-based Peace Education Mission earlier this year, but has yet to be approved by Burnley Council.

No-one has been arrested in connection with the discovery.