Two Police Scotland officers were in the Dunterlie area of the town in December when they caught a whiff of the sweet smelling drug.

And the smell was so strong that it led them to 82 Stewart Street, and on chapping the door, two men ran from the house.

Inside they found 542 individual cannabis plants in one of the biggest finds in Barrhead since around £10,000 worth of mixed drugs were discovered in a Dunterlie home in 2012.

Deputy chief inspector Alan Dickson said: “Two officers were on regular patrol when they noticed a very strong smell of cannabis in the Dunterlie area.

“Initial enquiries led them to a property on Stewart Street and upon knocking the door two men fled from the property.

“Unfortunately they managed to avoid arrest however enquiries are ongoing.

“We would ask anyone with information to come forwards and call 101 and remind residents to be vigilant of this kind of crime happening in their area.” The home is believed to be a private let that was rented out last year by an unknown tenant.

And since the two men present at the property fled, nothing has been seen or heard of the bill payer.

However Cllr Danny Devlin was happy with the result, saying: “It is great news that this large quantity of drugs has been seized before it can make it on to the streets of Barrhead or anywhere else for that matter.

“This was obviously a well developed operation producing a large quantity of the drug and I would encourage residents to be on the look out for this kind of thing.

“Sometimes the signs can be quite obvious.” Around 542 plants were discovered in the plantation, and it is estimated that each one would bring in around £300 worth of revenue when harvested.

The two men are described of being of Asian descent and residents in the area have been asked to report any suspicious goings on in the area that they might have seen before that night on December 19.