CANNABIS plants with a potential street value of £276,000 have been seized following a raid in Blackburn.

Officers executed a warrant at the unit in Forrest Road, where they discovered a mixture of 276 fully grown and younger plants.

One employee at City Electrical Factors, next door to the raided building, said it had been formerly used as a cold meat store.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: “We did not really have any idea anything was going on.

“I think they were under surveillance.

“There is a big vault inside the so we you would not smell anything.

“You would see people come and go every now and then.

“It does not shock me that people are growing cannabis around here, but it is surprising they have done it so close to a working unit where people can see it.

“It is a bit cheeky, but I would not put it past anybody nowadays. Somebody could be doing it next door to you and you would never realise.”

He added police had used electricity from his company to open the shutters to allow them to carry out the raid on Thursday (FEB 20). The worker said once the doors were open, there was a strong smell of cannabis.

He said: “When they opened the door, you could see inside.

“It looked like there were trees. There were lights hanging from the ceiling and there were fans too.

“It absolutely stunk, you could smell it all day in the office.”

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: “We have acted on information from the public to remove more drugs from our streets.

“I encourage members of the public to continue to work with us and report any concerns to the police.” Two men have been arrested in connection with the find.