ONE of the 'largest cannabis farms' in north Hampshire has been raided by police, with potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of the drugs seized.

Officers raided a property in Union Lane, Kingsclere, on Monday morning after intelligence had been gathered that the site was being used to illegally grow cannabis plants.

Officers arrived at the property at around 8.50am where they were greeted by the barking of 'guard dogs' at the property, with one officer saying, 'you can smell it [cannabis] from the roadside.'

After the tenant at the property was served with an arrest warrant, a total of five people were detained as officers searched the property to discover a 'massive' cannabis farm.

Within the barn (pictured) there were rows 'as far as the eye can see' of cannabis plants, all standing at around 1.15 metres high.

A second barn was being prepared to house even more plants, with a third farm building boarded up to act as a drying room, where officers also found two crossbows.

PC Simon Denton told the Gazette that the site also housed two ‘mother plants’ which have a value of between £1,000 and £10,000.

PC Denton said that each individual plant has an estimated value of £250.

“This is an industrial cannabis farm on a massive scale,” said PC Denton.

“We had gained intelligence on the property after we had been told about an excess amount of compost being delivered to the property, which is not necessarily cause for concern for a farm.

“However, we soon heard that part of the property had been closed off behind a gate, which was being guarded by dogs, which raises a few flags.”

In executing the warrant, officers turned up in a number of unmarked cars, a police van and had a dog unit on standby.

However, there was no hostility from the men who were arrested.

Also on the site was a refrigerator lorry, which was filled with plants which looked like they were ready to be transported.

Sergeant Carl Holmes added: “This is the biggest [cannabis] farm I have ever seen during a bust.

“When you get intelligence, you get a hunch of what to expect, but I don’t think any of the officers here today expected anything on this scale.”

During the raid, officers arrested a 56-year-old man from Kingsclere, a 48-year-old man from Thatcham, a 47-year-old man from Bucklebury, Berkshire, a 29-year-old man from Newbury and a 20 year-old-man from Manor Park, East London.

All five people were released from custody, but remain under police investigation.