Cannabis factory in Bexhill

Officers executing a search warrant broke into a property at St James' Close last Friday afternoon.

The landlord had become suspicious after plastic sheeting was placed over the windows and believed the tenants had interfered with the household electricity.

Sergeant Dave Sands said later that in the three-bedroomed semi-detached property was unoccupied. But police found 170 small cannabis plants being grown under a hydroponics system in a bedroom.

Growing equipment was stored in other rooms. Plants and equipment were seized. Some plants were sent for forensic analysis. The majority were destroyed.

Police are now seeking the tenants, thought to be of Vietnamese origin.

It is the latest in a series of similar discoveries at Bexhill addresses this year.