Police arrested three men after raiding a drug den.

Officers swooped on a house in Whernside Avenue, Canvey, after being tipped off by the community.

They found about 30 mature cannabis plants in a garage adjoining the house, along with the specialist equipment needed to grow them.

A team of six officers from Essex Police’s response and patrol team, based at Rayleigh, was diverted to the cannabis factory during a routine shift.

They arrived at about 6pm on Wednesday to find they could enter the den without forcing their way in to the property.

Inside, the officers found three men who were arrested and taken to Rayleigh police station for questioning.

They were 33-year-old and 28-year-old men, both from Canvey, and a 31-year-old man from London.

The class B drug was stuffed into enormous, brown bags, which filled the back of a patrol car.

A different team of officers quizzed the men yesterday on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis.

It is believed the plants were fully-established and ready to be pushed onto the local market.

Insp Andy Parkman, based at Rochford police station, urged people to continue giving the police tip-offs.

He said: “From our perspective, this shows it is clear that when we receive good quality, community-based intelligence, we are in a position to act.

“I’d like to stress, although we do receive an awful lot of community-based intelligence, particularly around drugs, we may not always respond immediately.

“But it forms part of a bigger picture, which enables us to plan our operations.

“I’d strongly urge the public to continue feeding us information.”