The underground cannabis factory was found under a disused barn

by Rebecca Hughes

Cannabis plants with a street value of up to £90,000 have been seized after a drugs factory was uncovered... undergound.

Kent Police described the buried bunker at Cliffe, near Rochester, as a "rare discovery".

Officers searched an address in Salt Lane on Tuesday after a complaint from a local resident about a large generator running at the back of a run-down barn.

They found a trap door that provided entry to a bunker housing 100 plants and hydroponics equipment.

Ventilation pipes from the secret drugs factory

The plants are believed to have an estimated street value of £45,000 to £90,000.

Crews from Kent Fire and Rescue Service were called to stabilise the crumbling ceiling before forensic investigators discovered the full extent of the operation.

A Kent Police spokesman said the cultivators – who have not been seen at the site – lived in run-down mobile homes next to the barn.

A trap door was used to access the underground factory

DI Geoff Payne said: "It was well thought out, and extensive work has been carried out to create this underground factory.

"They had dug the base of the barn out and put containers in and a ceiling, leaving a man hole cover to gain access.

"The underground operation has been dismantled and we will be working with the local authority to ensure the barn is safe."

The Kent Police spokesman added: "It's common for us to find cannabis factories in industrial units or homes, but an underground factory like this one is quite rare."

Anyone with information can call Kent Police on 101 or Kent Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.