A suspected cannabis farm of more than 300 plants has been found in the town centre.

Police were seen outside a property in Maidstone High Street for hours after the discovery on Tuesday.

Pictures from the scene show police removing equipment and plants from outside a building close to the British Heart Foundation store.

A force van can be seen parked on the side of the road with a mini cordon in place.

Nicci Holdcroft witnessed the incident.

She said: “I was waiting for the bus and saw them bringing everything out – tubes, foil, the lot.

“It was a major drugs bust right in the town centre.”

Another witness detailed seeing several bags of cannabis taken into the police van.

A police spokesman said: “At around 12.30am on Tuesday, police were called to reports of suspicious activity near Maidstone High Street.

“A VW Transporter, believed to be linked, was identified and followed by officers and at 3.15am it was stopped on the M25, between junctions 28 and 29.

“A quantity of cannabis plants were seized from the vehicle, and the driver, a 34-year-old man from London, was arrested and taken into custody.

“Patrols subsequently attended a premises near to the scene in the High Street and located a cannabis cultivation of more than 300 plants.”

It’s the latest in several cannabis farm finds in the town in recent years.

In 2022, just over the road in Bank Street, more than 1,000 plants and cultivation equipment were found.

In September, three people were arrested after another cannabis factory was found inside a flat in Chatham Road.

While in June, around 50 cannabis plants were found near Maidstone Girls Grammar School and Maplesden Noakes School close to Buckland Road.

The month before, an early morning raid led to the discovery of 57 plants in Loose Road.