COUNCILLORS have spoken of their worries about "distressed" residents after a "shocking" burglary at a cannabis farm near Peel Park in Bradford on Sunday night.

Police were called at 10.25pm to the ongoing burglary at Barmouth Terrace, and one local resident said: "I heard banging and saw five men in balaclavas running with large bunches of cannabis. It was a burglary as they kicked the door in to rob it."

Officers arrived at the scene and gave chase as the men threw armfuls of cannabis over garden walls.

They arrested a 23-year-old man from Bradford on suspicion of burglary and production of Class B drugs.

Two councillors in the Bolton and Undercliffe ward have voiced their concerns after the "shocking" incident.

Cllr Rachel Sunderland (Lib Dem, Bolton and Undercliffe) said: "This will be incredibly distressing and shocking for the residents as they wouldn't want this sort of thing happening in their area.

"Cannabis farms can cause disruption with people coming and going. And they can smell.  

"As councillors, we get contacted about street dealing or people sat in their cars smoking cannabis.

"There is a community cost of things like this. People want to feel safe in their own homes.

"These kind of things happen all too frequently and they can have an impact on residents.

"Nobody wants to have that level of crime in their area."

Cllr David Ward (Lib Dem, Bolton and Undercliffe) said: "When I was a member of Parliament, I used to go with police on cannabis raids.

"Most of the raids I went on would be in back to back terrace properties on an ordinary street. There are dozens and dozens of these properties across the district. It could happen on anybody's street.

"This is why people should aways keep an eye out for cannabis farms. If someone is coming to a property once or twice a day and no-one lives there it can be suspicious behaviour,

"While sometimes it may not seem worth reporting, the police will actually be gathering evidence to track down people and convict them.

"The police will take action and thank goodness they're dealing with these things."

Police enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 quoting crime reference number 13210077778.