Officers swooped after a member of the public tipped them off about a strong odour coming from the Divernia Way property. And after obtaining a warrant to search the second floor flat, police found dozens of plants and a fully-fledged hydroponics operation.

One resident who watched the drama unfold said: “They just kept coming down with more and more bags and pots, it was ridiculous.” Police are thought to have recovered a minimum of £21,000 pounds worth of the class B drug.

Officers wearing blue gloves combed through the evidence gathered at the flat.

Arriving at the property at around 8.40am on Thursday, police remained at the scene for 24 hours as they dismantled the farm.

Officers were seen throwing large bags of equipment and silver foil from the third storey window, before it was all gathered up and taken away as evidence.

Black bags full of cannabis plant stalks were also piled outside the property, which is thought to be a private let.

The windows on the flat had to be left open to allow the stench of the cannabis to dissipate.

Local authority liaison officer, Srgt Jim Boyle, said: “This has been a fantastic result and delivers a serious blow to drug crime in the area.

“Anyone who is thinking of indulging in this kind of crime should know that Police Scotland will find out and will take action against them.

“In Barrhead we have a zero tolerance approach to drugs, and we will be working to make sure that justice is brought against the people responsible for this operation. In the mean time, we are asking anyone who may have any information either about this particular operation or any others in the area to come forward by contacting us on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”