Cannabis plants worth £4m seized in Rotherham police raid

A large cannabis factory in Rotherham town centre was shut down following a police raid

Thousands of cannabis plants worth more than £4m have been seized by police in a raid in Rotherham town centre.

A total of 4,375 plants were found at commercial premises on Howard Street on Wednesday, South Yorkshire Police said.

Ch Insp Sharron Wood said: "This is a large cannabis grow in the centre of town and I'm pleased we've been able to shut it down and destroy the plants."

The force said the seized plants had a street value of more than £4m. No arrests had yet been made, it added.

The plants were found in six rooms over two floors of the building.

Ms Wood said factories like the one raided were a fire risk due to "dangerous electrical wiring".

She asked members of the public to look out for the signs a building was being used to grow drugs and report concerns about properties to the police.