Take a peek inside "one of the biggest ever cannabis farms found in Lancashire" after 10,000 plants worth millions of pounds are seized in raid

Police made the discovery after raiding an industrial unit at the Apex Trading Estate in Lower Eccleshill, Darwen at around 10am yesterday (October 8).

After forcing entry, officers found an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 cannabis plants inside at various stages of growth.

Lancashire Police has estimated that the street value of the plants is worth millions of pounds.

Two men aged 24 and one aged 31 have been arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis. They remain in custody.

Officers said they found evidence of people living among the plants inside the industrial unit, where a number of make-shift beds made out of crates were found.

The electricity supply is also believed to have been bypassed, with electricians brought in to make the premises safe before the farm can be dismantled.

Investigations are on-going.

A police spokesman said: "We will continue to target those taking part in this illegal activity and will act on information passed to us to disrupt and ultimately prevent those involved in the drugs trade from operating on our streets.

"Cannabis can have lasting physical and mental health effects on users as well as having a negative effect on our communities and fuelling other crime and we are determined to tackle that.

"We need the public to continue to work with us to help us tackle drug crime by informing us of any suspicious activity."

Anyone with information or concerns about drug cultivation or drug dealing can call Lancashire Police on 101.

Earlier that morning (October 8), police raided a home six miles away in Church, near Oswaldtwistle.

Officers forced entry using 'the big red key' battering ram and found more than 100 mature plants across two floors.

A 25-year-old man, from Eastern Europe, has been arrested on suspicion of cannabis cultivation.

Learn more about the raid in our report.