PCSO Karl Gippert was patrolling in the Brus area of Hartlepool when he noticed a strong smell of cannabis near a house in West View Road.

A warrant was issued and the drugs unit from Hartlepool police raided a garage at the rear of the house at 9am on Thursday morning.

Following the swoop, a woman in her 30s was arrested and is being interviewed by police officers.

The haul, which included 164 plants – the majority of which were mature - was discovered in the raid.

Police officers seized the drugs and drug paraphernalia including lighting, plant food, ventilation and heating equipment.

PCSO Gippert said: "I had noticed the smell a couple of times on my patrol and you could clearly smell it from the roadside.

"It is not something you often come across and it is a good example of what a community officer is all about. I was pleased with what we found there."

PC Chris Stonehouse, who led the raid, said it was a relatively sophisticated set up inside the garage.

He said: "This was quite a good set up in terms of the equipment being used and we also seized a ventilation system, plant food, lighting and heating equipment.

"This was an intelligence-led operation after police received information from the community support officer.

"PCSOs are the eyes and ears of the police force because they are out on their patrols all the time. As a result of their work we have come up with this result."

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "Around 165 cannabis plants were seized with a street value believed to be more than £100,000. Around 100 of the plants seized were mature and police officers also recovered drugs paraphernalia including lighting equipment."