THE landlord of a house transformed into a sophisticated cannabis factory by its tenants has described the moment he discovered hundreds of illegal plants inside.

John Guy was called to the semi-detached house in Queen's Avenue, Bromley Cross, by United Utilities workers who said they needed urgent access because of an electrical fault.

After discovering the door locks had been changed, Mr Guy prised open an upstairs window to get inside - and was shocked to see a sophisticated drug growing operation behind plastic drapes.

He said: "It was absolutely horrendous. I couldn't believe it. I had never seen anything like it in my life. The man from United Utilities called the police and said they had better get down here immediately.

"You don't expect to rent out a house and it to be turned into a cannabis farm."

Mr Guy, aged 49, from Bolton, owns six houses and four shops in the area. He signed the lease documents for the Queen's Avenue property, number 116, on February 21 - meaning the men behind the operation took less than three weeks to establish the cannabis farm. The house was kitted out with heat lamps, complicated watering systems and fans.

Mr Guy said: "There were plants in the lounge and in two of the bedrooms. In the bedrooms, there were plastic sheets covering the windows. They must have moved everything in very quickly."

United Utilities were called on Tuesday when the electricity supply in the house adjoined to number 116 failed.

The men behind the cannabis operation are believed to have hooked their equipment up to their neighbour's supply.

Police raided number 116, and carried out a search of number 120, also owned by Mr Guy, where they found more equipment and cannabis plant seedlings.