POLICE have seized £20,000 of cannabis from a house in Blackburn on the first day of a month-long drug crackdown.

Around 100 plants were found growing in the terrace house in Infirmary Street yesterday morning after police received a tip-off from neighbours.

Seven officers battered down the back door and found the plants and growing equipment in the kitchen and an upstairs room.

Police were initially made aware of the drugs den after attending another incident in Infirmary Street.

They were told of a “strong smell” of cannabis coming from a house further down the road, opposite The Ivy pub.

Sgt Eric Halford, who attended the raid said: “We had a number of people in the area complain of a strong smell of cannabis.

After further investigations we pin-pointed it to this address.

“We urge people to come forward and tell us if they are aware of anyone cultivating cannabis, community engagement is vital in helping us find these cannabis farms.”

The raid comes on the first day of Operation Broadley, a month-long crackdown on cannabis cultivation which has been organised by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (Titan) and the six regional police forces — Merseyside, GMP, Cheshire, Lancashire, North Wales and Cumbria.

It comes after figures revealed that more than 5,120 cannabis factories with 345,000 plants worth £140million have been discovered across the North West in the last three years.

Det Supt John Lyons, from Titan, said: “Cannabis is not the harmless drug it is often perceived to be.

“An increasing number of people who grow cannabis are directly funding dangerous, organised criminal gangs, often responsible for gun crime, violence and intimidation across the North West.”