In pictures: Huge cannabis plants worth £40,000 seized by Telford police

Detectives who conducted the raid at the terraced house say the plants were some of the tallest they had ever seen.

Around 40 plants were found at the house on King Street, Dawley.

A substance believed to be crack cocaine, needles and drug paraphernalia were also seized.

Police obtained a warrant to search the property after concerns were raised by residents.

Ten officers from across south Telford were involved in the operation.

Sergeant Darren Stacey of the Dawley Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "We gained entry through a bottom panel. This is following reports of suspicious activity at this address.

"When we got inside there was a small issue at the top of the stairs as there was a metal gate which we believe had been installed to slow us down."

Sergeant Stacey said it was unusual to see plants grow to such a height, as they usually only reach around 3ft before being harvested and re-cultivated.

He said: "Normally it takes three months for them to go from the start to when they are cultivated then they start the next set.

"Growing them so tall will give them a much lower yield so we're not quite sure of the reason why.

"It is possible that they got to that height and didn't bud so they might have had to wait until they reached this size."

The property was also covered with CCTV cameras, which officers said were usually associated with Class A drugs like crack cocaine.

One man, aged 25, has been arrested following the raid and was last night being questioned by officers.

Police say £500 worth of crack cocaine was seized from the address. They also took laptops and mobile phones from the house.

Detectives say they expect further arrests and that more search warrants may by carried out.

Sergeant Stacey said: "We are getting more and more cases of these where people are seeing it as an easy way of supplying a habit.

"We do act on any information from the public and following investigation we will do what we have done today."

The property was set to be examined by forensic officers before being dismantled by police