HIGHLY potent cannabis plants worth tens of thousands of pounds were seized in a police raid on a drugs farm.

Officers swooped on the rented unit, close to Eanam, Blackburn, after an attempted burglary on Tuesday night set off a security alarm.

Police investigating the attempted break-in on Stanley Street discovered the 300 "skunk" plants being grown using a specially-developed heating and lighting system.

Skunk cannabis is several times stronger than normal cannabis. The plants discovered included one over 9ft. It is believed the unit has been rented from a Blackburn firm since May and there was evidence that some cultivated cannabis had already been removed from the site.

A 33-year-old man from Fleetwood was arrested early today in connection with the find.

A police spokesman said: "It appears that the cannabis-growing unit had been in use for several months. This appears to have been a sophisticated operation."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.