Six charged after cannabis farm found in former Ipswich nightclub

Police have been outside the former nightclub on Arcade Street over the weekend

Six people have been charged after a cannabis factory containing up to 600 plants was found in a former town centre nightclub.

It was discovered in Arcade Street in Ipswich on Friday after a tip-off from a member of the public, police said.

The derelict building used to house the Distinction nightclub, and prior to that Sound Academy.

Six men from the Ipswich area were arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis and have since been charged.

Police say all are of no fixed abode and are expected to appear before magistrates in the town on Monday.

The building has been empty for several years, with previous plans to convert it to housing unrealised.

Between 400 and 600 cannabis plants were found in the property, police said

The building was popular in the 1990s, when it was a branch of Laser Quest

Insp Dan Fiske said: "The location of the cannabis factory was a busy location in the town centre and may have caused some disruption.

"This information from the public enabled us to develop the intelligence and obtain the warrant which ultimately produced this find."