POLICE have closed down the 20th cannabis factory to be discovered in the Medway area since last October.

Officers were patrolling Chatham Hill, Chatham, at around 2am on Saturday when they smelt the pungent odour of cannabis.

The patrol searched a nearby house where they found 178 plants.

The people at the property fled from police, abandoning the crop that has a street value of around £44,000. It is thought that the "farmers" were in the process of harvesting the plants.

Det Insp 20th cannabis factory We are winning the fight against drugs in the towns of Medway and it has become common knowledge that there is currently a cannabis drought in the area.

"Tackling the supply of cannabis is just as important as taking class A drugs off the streets. Often smoking cannabis is the first rung in the ladder for those who will later ruin their lives by progressing to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.

"So cannabis growers beware. We are working within the Medway area to find your factories and close them down."

Since October last year Kent Police in Medway have seized around £1.3 million worth of drugs.