POP star Louis Tomlinson has questioned the way the police use social media, after officers Tweeted about uncovering a Keighley cannabis farm.

The former One Direction singer said "gloating about who's done what" created divisions.

West Yorkshire Police had raided the property in Arctic Street on Thursday after spotting that there was no snow on its roof, suggesting a strong heat source inside.

Although no-one was inside, PC James Butterfield, one of the officers involved, speculated the haul of 322 plants could be valued at up to £80,000.

Posting on Twitter, he said: "So this is what we got up to! My size 10 boots came in handy for entry. Removing this filth from the streets is always great. Knowing that the morons responsible for it are £80k out of pocket is a Brucey bonus! #didntwedowell."

Twitter posts about the haul garnered attention online, prompting the pop star to query the tone of police accounts.

He said: "Help me understand why individual police officers need their own Twitter? Surely as law enforcement you should be rising above ‘venting’ to your followers. All this does is cause arguments between people online and the police."

West Yorkshire Police's PC Sam Hollings responded: "Because engagement breaks down barriers, more often than not it lets people feel the police are the people, not just anonymous uniforms."

Tomlinson replied: "Potentially, used in the correct form however gloating about who’s done what and who you’ve put away only creates a divide. I saw one photo of a cctv picture with an emoji over the suspects face. Doesn’t this create a certain tone?"

PC Hollins said: "Agreed. It's always about balance and people being people it's not always spot on. But I believe on balance there is more good than harm done. Or else I would not give it any time and we would not be furthering this discussion. Thanks Louis."

PC Hollings has 414 followers on the social media site, while Tomlinson has 32.9 million.

It’s not known what drew the pop star’s attention to PC Hollings’ tweet, but once the debate began dozens of “Directioners” joined in, so much so that the officer had to turn off his notifications because they were getting clogged up with Tomlinson’s supporters.

PC Hollings tweeted later: “Nice of Louis from 1D fame to take an interest today. Boy does he get a lot of likes and retweets. Had to switch notifications off so sorry if you have asked me something.”

The officer later posted an image of a helicopter upside down, spinning on its blades, and the comment: “It's a very strange day when pop stars argue for less free speech and the police argue for more…”