Police have spent two days cleaning out three properties being used as huge cannabis factories.

More than 450 plants were found in rooms at numbers 20a and 20b, where walls had been knocked through to link the two houses, and at number 68b, all in Church Road in Ramsgate.

The three properties could have potentially provided a profit of more than £50,000 every 12 weeks - the propagation cycle of the plants – and investigations are ongoing into whether the activities at the three properties are linked.

In one house, the kitchen, living rooms and bedrooms were full of plants. The electrical meter had also been bypassed, rendering the sites a potential fire risk.

Thanet Sgt Dave Knox, who led the operation, said: “Organised crime groups use cannabis factories in order to fund other criminal activities. They generate significant sums of cash and to disrupt such operations is a county and a national priority.”

He added: “The classification of the drug is irrelevant; if it is being used to fund criminal activities, it is a crime.”

Supt Chris Hogben, the area's deputy commander, added: “This is a very positive result and reflects the hard work of my neighbourhood and intelligence officers.”

Ngoc Bang Tran, 46 of Edinburgh Road, Plaistow, London, was arrested Wednesday in Church Road and has since been charged with being concerned in the production of cannabis.

He is due to appear at Margate Magistrates Court on Friday.