A CONTROVERSIAL road that has been the scene of fly-tipping, sex games and anti-social-behaviour is now being used by drugs producers to dump their substandard crop.

A countryside ranger from Lancashire Countryside Services discovered 16 bin bags of cannabis and material related to the cultivation of the class C drug dumped in two areas of Kings Highway in Huncoat on Sunday.

Paul Shoreman said it was a growing problem and it was the third drugs find he had made in the last 10 months.

Mr Shoreman said: "There's quite a large amount.

"There were two different locations, one at the bottom of the road and another at the top.

"In each place there were about seven or eight bin bags full.

"It's something that I have come across before in different areas like the Ribble Valley. I would imagine it's a growing issue as there's more people producing this stuff.."

Mr Shoreman said most of the bags had been filled with old compost in which the drug had been grown but others contained cannabis leaves.

He said: "The most usable parts of the plant, with the highest value, are the flowers and the leaves near the flowers. You can use the others but they are not of the same quality so they often get dumped."

Mr Shoreman said he was concerned that the drugs could have fallen into the wrong hands.

He said: "There's a risk that children could have found it."

Mr Shoreman reported the find to Hyndburn Council and Accrington Police on Monday afternoon.

Sergeant Nick Williams-Jones, of Accrington Police, said: "We were informed by one of the countryside rangers that there had been been a certain amount of fly-tipping on Kings Highway, including what he thought to be cannabis plants and other drugs paraphernalia.

"At this time four bags of waste and vegetable matter have been seized and will be brought back for our crime scene investigators to look at to establish exactly what the plants are.

"That will determine what we will do from here."