MORE than 15 cannabis plants were found in a house after a fire broke out.

Firefighters were called to the house in St James’s Road, Blackburn, yesterday (MON) morning.

An upstairs bedroom was well alight when officers arrived, but the fire led to the discovery of the drugs factory operation.

A spokeswoman for the police said: “Officers were called to the scene by firefighters.

“A cannabis farm, with about 15 plants, had been found in a bedroom.

“We will be speaking to the landlord and tenants in relation to this incident.”

A number of firefighters were still on the scene at 9.30am yesterday making it safe and passing items over to the police for investigation.

A fire service spokesman said: “The fire was going well upstairs when we arrived and there was a lot of smoke.

“Our immediate concerns were that there could be somebody in the house, and a neighbour told us a couple lived in the house.

“Our teams breached the property wearing breathing apparatus and carried out a search, but there was nobody home.

“There was some severe damage to the upstairs of the property and some smoke damage to the house next door, the occupants of which were evacuated.

“The fire is under investigation, although I suspect it was started accidentally.”