FIREFIGHTERS discovered a cannabis farm at a former bakery in Farnworth.

Crews were called to St James Street, following reports of a house fire at 6.10am yesterday.

Firefighters discovered 55 cannabis plants, believed to be worth thousands of pounds at the house, which was unoccupied, before police were called.

Watch manager Oliver Deller, from Farnworth Fire Station, said: “A member of the public called us after seeing smoke coming from the the house.

“They believed it was a house fire and there was quite a lot of smoke coming from the boiler.

“When we arrived we realised the house was unoccupied and filled with cannabis plants — there was no fire.”

Police have seized the plants and launched an investigation.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “I haven’t seen anything suspicious or heard anything about the house.

“It used to be a bakery and went through a number of owners before closing.

“It was sold just before Christmas and we believed it might be turned back into a bakery but clearly that was never the buyer’s intentions.”

Another neighbour confirmed he had seen two men occasionally visiting the house, although never suspected anything suspicious.

A GMP spokesman said: “Approximately 55 plants have been seized from the property. The majority were on the first floor of the house in a bedroom, with a number also stored in the back room downstairs. Officers are now appealing for members of the public to come forward with information.”

Emergency services were called to the same street in the early hours of Saturday morning to deal with a separate incident.

A 56-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of an offence contrary to the Explosives Substances Act and later bailed.