A CANNABIS factory has been found after police raided two terraced houses.

A police cordon was put in place preventing entry to the homes with officers guarding the buildings - near the Portuguese restaurant Taberna13 - throughout Thursday.

In a statement, Hampshire police said: “At 5.08pm (on February 22) officers entered an address in Bernard Street, Southampton and discovered a quantity of cannabis plants.

“They conducted enquiries and found that a neighbouring property also was being used as a cannabis factory.

“Officers remain at the scene while the addresses are made safe, and the plants are seized.

“Our enquiries continue.”

Daily Echo:

It’s thought that this isn’t the first time cannabis plants have been found in the road.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the Echo: “Around Christmas time last year my son came to visit, and he was helping get the Christmas decorations down from the loft when he spotted a cannabis plant growing through our ceiling.

“The smell was horrible and fortunately we had it removed.

“Then a little while later in January I noticed a lorry outside the house and cannabis grow tents were being taken out of the house and being put in the back of the lorry.

READ MORE: Police find second cannabis factory in Radcliffe Road Southampton

“It’s frightening what goes on because you sometimes see this type of thing on the news but you don’t expect it to be happening so close to you.

“I take an active interest in what’s going on around us and this type of thing isn’t good for the community and makes it look run down.”

Though the cannabis farmers using the properties are yet to be identified, police officers were seen throughout the day moving in and out of the two houses with forensic gloves and facemasks.

This is another in a long line of cannabis factories to be discovered in Southampton in recent weeks.

As reported by the Daily Echo, police raided a second cannabis factory in Radcliffe Road, while other farms have been found in Victoria Street in the Northam area of the city and behind Victory Gospel Church in Portswood Road.