Drugs Squad officers busted a massive cannabis factory in Fulham on Tuesday afternoon.

More than 250 plants were found in a derelict building at 86 Fulham High Street in what officers described as one of the largest narcotics factories they had ever come across in Hammersmith and Fulham.

They believe the cannabis has a street value running into six figures and think an organised gang has been running the operation for several months.

Two men in their forties were arrested and taken to Hammersmith Police Station. Officers said one of the men has been involved with a similar offence in the past, while the other was wanted by for other, unspecified matters.

The Drugs Squad swooped on the building, which leads into a 24-hour contract car park, at about 1.45pm after receiving intelligence and found plants growing in three different rooms.

In what they described as a 'sophisticated operation', electricity was being wired from the building opposite, also derelict, to help the plants, which were at varying stages of maturity, grow

Detective Sergeant Simon Rogers, leading the operation, said: "I have a feeling they have been running this for a while. With the right knowledge they can turn around a batch in eight weeks so the true value of this could be huge.

"This is definitely one of the biggest factories I have come across."

DS Rogers said cannabis has slipped under the radar of public consciousness in recent times because of a proliferation in class A drugs like cocaine, but warned it was still a threat.

"It's not just about class As," he added.