DOZENS of cannabis plants were seized when police raided a house in Parkeston.

Police carried out a search warrant on a house, in Hamilton Street, acting on intelligence they had received.

Officers seized 73 plants during the raid last Saturday, May 7.

Chief Inspector Russ Cole, Tendring district commander for Essex Police, said: “We want to clamp down on this. We’re looking at vulnerable people caught up in it and appeal for anyone with information to come forward.

“We have had a few examples of factories like this in Lawford and Harwich and we know of others – there are similar searches planned.”

Bill Davidson, chairman of Parkeston Residents’ Association, said residents were left shocked.

He said: “Obviously, this is something nobody wants to hear about on their doorstep. As a resident, I am very shocked by it.

“I take my hat off to the police, who are under pressure and under staffed, yet still manage to find and stop operations like this.

“Everyone here is saying Parkeston has gone from a privately owned area to people just coming in and out and, in some cases, there needs to be regular checks of what is going on.”