WEST Mercia Police seized nearly 3,000 cannabis plants last year as officers take the fight to the dealers and prove Worcestershire is no soft touch in the war on drugs.

The force seized 2,775 cannabis plants in 2015/16, up from 1,487 the previous year although this is partially down to a change in the way the figures are recorded.

Previously if police seized 10 plants they would only count those sent for testing towards the total but as of January 16 all plants seized were counted, increasing the total.

We reported earlier this month how five drug dealers were given suspended jail terms for conspiring to supply cannabis.

The five - Daniel O'Neil, Sean Court, Kevin Fergie, Lee Higgins and Dave Perkins - admitted to conspiracy to supply £60,000 of cannabis following police raids in Belle Vue, Welland, Upper Chase Road, Malvern and Golding Road, Ledbury in March.

DI Stuart Murphy of West Mercia's Priority CID said: “This underlines our commitment in our efforts and in our continued stance to deal with all those involved in the supply of controlled drugs.

“It also shows that the public and the communities have trust and confidence in their local police to report these matters and that the police will act on their concerns.

“Academic research shows that the cannabis grown these days is certainly stronger than the strains grown back in the 60s and 70s and this has links to mental health issues and increased paranoia.

“With advances in science they can grow plants which give different effects on those individuals who use them.”

DI Murphy said previous arrests showed West Mercia was 'no soft touch' when it came to tackling drugs.

The high number of seizures in West Mercia which includes Worcestershire helped West Midlands come top of the table when it came to the seizure of cannabis plants with an overall figure of 69,903 plants seized in 2014/15.

All other regions including London (38,369 seizures), Wales (29,204), the North East (21,283), North West (48,403), Yorkshire and Humber (32,445), East of England (35,565), the South West (19,358) and the South East (26,702) had fewer seizures.

In Worcestershire there were 320 seizures (for example from a warrant) and from that 1,487 plants were seized in 2014/15, helping push up the figures for the region as a whole.

The West Midlands also had the highest number of seizures per household (5,045) in 2014/15.