POLICE have busted a major cannabis factory, set up in a former medical centre.

Neighbours on the residential Bradford street described how the building had been fortified, with fences built around it and guard dogs on patrol.

Police swooped following an assault in which a man suffered head and leg injuries.

Officers were called to a disturbance in the early hours of Thursday and found the injured man, who is now in a stable condition in hospital.

Police found cannabis in an outbuilding and then discovered the "extensive" cannabis farm in a neighbouring property.

The drama took place in Elmfield Drive, off Odsal Road, Odsal.

One resident, living on Elmfield Drive, said the former medical centre had been turned into a fortified cannabis factory, with fences built around it and guard dogs on the site.

He said: "People who turned up at the property have threatened locals to mind their own business.

"I heard that someone had tried to get in to steal the cannabis and had been attacked with an axe."

Another woman neighbour said she heard someone screaming in the grounds of the property.

"An ambulance arrived and the paramedics were trying to calm him down. He was screaming about his arm, his leg, and his head hurting.

"You could hear banging and someone jumped over a wall to escape but the police caught him at the bottom of the street.

"There was a big fight. It was like World War Two."

A team of officers were continuing to search the building yesterday.

Detective Inspector Ryan Bragg, of Bradford District CID, said: "At 12.52am on Thursday, July 10, police were called to a report of a disturbance in Odsal Road, Bradford.

"Officers attended the scene and found a 26-year-old man with head and leg injuries.

"He was taken to hospital where he remains today in a stable condition.

"A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and later released on bail.

"Around 1pm the same day, while searching an outbuilding in Odsal Road, officers found and seized a cannabis plant and arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of production of cannabis. He has since been released on bail.

"Further inquiries led to the search of a neighbouring property which was found to contain an extensive cannabis farm.

"A 30-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis and was later released on bail.

"Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Bradford District CID on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. "

Police said it was a "significant" find of cannabis.

Earlier this year it was revealed that cannabis offences in the Bradford district had risen by more than 20 per cent, with 888 offences, ranging from simple possession to production, in the year to March 2013.