A POLICE raid on a farm has uncovered drugs and stolen cars worth £250,000.

The 10 vehicles, including Mercedes and BMW models, were found hidden along with cannabis plants in an outbuilding off Knotts Lane, Colne.

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The haul was described by officers as an ‘illegal business’ and detectives confirmed that a pensioner had been interviewed in connection with the find.

Forensic experts are now combing the site, at Hubbs House Farm, after 35 cannabis plants were also recovered during the operation.

Sergeant Kim DeCurtis, who covers Pendle East, said just two of the vehicles remained fully intact, with the others broken down for parts.

She said: “This is a fantastic result for Colne police and the owners of these vehicles. We believe that we have stopped an illegal ‘business’ of stolen vehicles being taken purely for their parts and suspect they were being shipped abroad for resale.

“A significant value has been recovered which is around the £250,000 mark and we are still working our way through the vehicles and parts.

“They include three Land Rovers, a Peugeot campervan, a Mercedes, a Ford Transit, a Volkswagen Golf and a BMW vehicle.

“I am confident that our partner agencies and the community of Colne are relieved that action is being taken and a full investigation is ongoing to identify those responsible.”

A 68-year-old man was voluntarily interviewed by police following the raid, which took place at around 12.30pm on Wednesday.

The man, who was not arrested, has been released pending a full investigation, but police are still hunting for other people who may have been involved in the suspected theft of the cars.

Sgt DeCurtis said: “We certainly believe there may be others who are responsible for taking and breaking up the vehicles.”

She added: “These vehicles were either parts, shells or full vehicles that are believed to be stolen from all over Lancashire.”

The farm, on land to the west of Knotts Lane and Southfield Lane, was at the centre of a debate at a Pendle Council executive meeting two months ago.

Councillors passed an urgent resolution calling for enforcement action to be speeded up after a litany of complaints about fires and illegal waste being dumped.

The authority’s then-chief executive, Stephen Barnes, said he would contact Lancashire County Council and the Environment Agency in order to address the complaints, which date back several years.

Sgt DeCurtis said Colne and West Craven police were involved in a ‘multi-agency approach’ to tackling issues at the farm.

She said: “The farm is an issue for a host of reasons. We know there have been a number of fires on there and environmental concerns too.

“We initially went up for a different reason but obviously we have come across these vehicles. There are 10 that we know of and we’ve had three vans up to collect them all.

“There was a full 2014 plate Land Rover Discovery and a full 2010 plate Peugeot motorhome. The rest are all broken up, we suspect for parts. None of them were older than 2010 plates.”