WITH around 150 cannabis plants packed between foil-lined walls, these are the amazing scenes inside a drugs factory concealed inside a smart-looking Newport house.

Police acting on an anonymous tip-off obtained a warrant from magistrates and raided the house at Stockton Road at 2pm yesterday.

Inside they found a cannabis factory of around 150 2ft-tall plants, which based on previous seizures could have an estimated street value of up to £50,000.

Neighbours on the quiet street said they had seen an Asian man occasionally visiting the terraced house, and had wondered why the blinds were never raised.

The house owner, who had rented the property out, found the locks had been changed when he arrived today after being called by police.

He was stunned to find out what was inside, and how much damage had been caused, including holes being drilled through doors for ventilation ducts to go through.

Inside, the letterbox was sealed with foil and taped firmly shut and thick blinds and curtains were arranged to stop a single chink of light being seen by passers-by.

Leading us around the rented property scenes of crimes officer DC Alyn Chown explained that criminals had used rolls of thick black membrane, of the type available at garden centres, to line the walls and keep the heat in.

This was then covered in foil and a sophisticated lighting system with multiple bulbs was suspended from the ceilings and powered by tapping into the electricity supply.

One downstairs room and two of three upstairs bedrooms were filled with cannabis plants, some covered in thick buds.

"It's incredible, isn't it," said DC Chown, pointing out the ventilation system set up between the rooms.

Against one wall, large bags of compost were stacked up to the celing and a smaller bedroom was filled with empty plant pots, and probably used as a preparation area, said DC Chown.

Five two-gallon bottles of chemicals stood on the bathroom floor, and the bath was filled with a pink liquid. The stale air smelt strongly of cannabis, and scraps of leaves, possibly from previous harvests of the drug, covered the filthy carpet.

There were signs that until recently someone had been living in the house.

A single air-mattress and a bag of dirty socks were in the front room, and noodle packets filled the kitchen bin.