The police have thanked the public for helping them to find a substantial cannabis farm at the start of this week.

Rossendale police raided a house with over 500 cannabis plants in in Hall Street, Whitworth, in the early hours of Monday June 29.

Rossendale police have thanked the public for helping them to uncover this huge operation.

The police said "several good pieces of information" led them to the property in Hall Street, where they found a complete house conversion with most of the rooms boarded out and equipped with expensive electrical systems, heaters, and lighting to help grow the plants.

All 500 plants have been seized and destroyed along with thousands of pounds worth of growing equipment.

The electrical supply to the house, which had been bypassed, is now rectified and safe for neighbouring residents.

A post on Rossendale's police Facebook page said: "With each plant giving an estimated yield of £200-£400, this is a significant disruption to organised crime who use premises like this to fund their activities.

"This operation has cost organised crime easily in excess of £100,000, thanks to you, we have hit them where it hurts.

"Enquiries are ongoing to identify the operators of this premises."

The police asked that the public continue to use Crimestoppers, which can be used anonymously, to continue reporting these crimes and helping the police with their enquiries.