More than 1,200 cannabis plants worth £1.5m found in Gainsborough
Police say the electrical system was so overloaded that fuse boxes had started to melt
More than 1,200 cannabis plants capable of producing around £1.5 million worth of drugs a year have been found inside a Gainsborough property.
Police discovered the cannabis farm on Bridge Street on Tuesday 4 August after a report from Northern Powergrid.
Officers arrived to find the main fuse box melting due to the strain being placed on the electrical system.
Electricity had been illegally taken from the network to power the operation, which created a serious fire risk.
Northern Powergrid helped make the premises safe and had to dig up a large section of the road as part of the work.
Inspector Michael Head, from the Gainsborough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said the scale of the grow showed it was "far from a small, personal cultivation".
He said: "Operations of this size are often linked to organised criminality and can have a detrimental impact on our communities."
Inspector Head said the condition of the electrical system was "particularly alarming".
He added: "The demand being placed on the power supply was so great that fuse boxes had started to melt. This created an extremely serious fire hazard, putting neighbouring properties and members of the public at risk."
The plants have been seized and will be destroyed.
No arrests have been made yet and enquiries are continuing to find those responsible.
Anyone with information is being urged to call 101, quoting incident 587 of 4 August.
Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.