A NEIGHBOURHOOD police team has taken more than £5million of cannabis off the streets in the past six months.

Hyndburn officers have raided six large cannabis farms since December.

Several farms were also posing a fire risk by stealing electricity.

The most recent incident reported was on February 5, when plants were seized from a terraced house in Stevenson Street East, Accrington.

Officers said that the electricity in the building was being abstracted and bypassed which police say is a significant fire risk.

On January 8, a large farm, with almost 500 plants, was found at the old Empire Bingo Hall on Blackburn Road, Accrington, with the electricity bypassed.

Two recently discovered cannabis set-ups, when checked by Electricity North West, were on the verge of a fire breaking out within and a cannabis factory on Avenue Parade just before Christmas resulted in a fire gutting the property.

Police have reiterated the dangers of cannabis due to the violence from criminal gangs running operations and putting innocent members of the community at risk.

A spokesperson for the police said: “These gangs exploit the vulnerable often using trafficked modern slavery victims to grow the crop, young people to sell the drugs on the streets and take over the properties of those unable to stand up to them.

“These grows can result in violent taxing where rival gangs attempt to steal the drugs of those who have set up the grow.

“This has resulted in innocent people being hurt when the wrong addresses have been attacked.

“Finally, there is a very real safety risk though fire and damage as electricity meters are bypassed illegally threatening neighbouring properties and residents.”

Police are asking people to continue reporting anything suspicious such as unoccupied premises as these are often used and windows will be usually covered.

Cannabis farms can also be noticed by a smell emanating from them and it is likely that after an initial flurry of activity with lots of drilling, people will be attending each day to tend a crop.