Officers broke into the house in Sturton Walk on Tuesday night following reports of suspicious activity at the property.

They discovered 221 young plants in the upstairs of the property but no-one was in the terraced house when they arrived.

PC Kev MacDonald from the Corby South Safer Community Team said: "This is a typical set up for an average cannabis factory in a house.

"There were two preparations rooms and two rooms upstairs for the growing of plants.

"If we had not found it until later we would be looking at £200,000
worth of cannabis."

A set of lights and several transformers had been set up in the front
room of the property ready for more plants to be grown.

Yesterday, scene of crime officers took DNA and fingerprint samples from the first floor in an attempt to identify possible suspects.

The plants were eventually removed from the property.

The latest raid is one in a series of cannabis factory discoveries in Corby over the last few months.

Around 100 cannabis plants were discovered when police raided a house in Salisbury Walk on the Oakley Vale estate in Corby in August.

Another 100 plants were found in Scarborough Walk, Corby on March 4.

A further 600 plants worth an estimated £200,000 were found at a house in Havelock Street, Kettering, in August.

Police discovered that the roof of a house in Rothwell had been turned into a cannabis factory in September.

PC MacDonald asked residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods.

He said: "Look out for heat sources and blacked out windows. People should also check if tiles have been removed from the roof."

Irregular comings and goings are also another tell-tale sign, he added.

Anyone with information about the cannabis factory is asked to call the South Corby Safer Community Team on 03000 111 222, or alternatively ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.