Cannabis growers in West Yorkshire will continue to feel the full weight of the law.

That’s the pledge from a West Yorkshire Police chief amid growing concerns about a relaxed attitude to drugs by police forces.

But West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson vowed that tackling drugs production and supply - at all levels of operation - remained a priority in the region and extra resources have been established to flush out dealers.

Mr Burns-Williamson’s comments come as his counterpart at Durham, Ron Hogg said his force will no longer actively pursue cannabis smokers and small-scale growers in order to prioritise its resources against more serious crime.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson

Mr Hogg wants to see users of the class B drug in County Durham and Darlington entered onto a course to deal with their habit rather than being arrested.

The Checkpoint programme aims to stop reoffending by diverting addicts away from their habit.

A spokesman for Addiction UK said it sent a message that “drugs are OK”.

Those who are caught with cannabis will swap a conviction for a Checkpoint contract where users will work with Durham Constabulary to tackle their drug habit.

But Mr Burns-Williamson said: “It’s an official decision but I wouldn’t want that approach adopted here.

“There has been a number of cannabis raids recently in Kirklees and there is a real push on drug crime force-wide.

“We have found that drugs are often linked to serious organised crime and in some cases human trafficking and forced labour.

“If someone reports suspected growing of substances in their neighbourhood at any level they can expect the police to tackle the problem.”

Latest figures show the West Yorkshire force’s stance on weeding out criminals is paying off with a 70% increase in the number of cannabis plant seizures last year.

The force recorded 8,960 plants were seized in the region in 2013 but this rose to a staggering 15,327 in 2014.

Nationally West Yorkshire Police was ranked fourth in the country for the biggest increase in plant seizures.

A cannabis factory was found inside a building after it was ravaged by fire earlier this week.

Click below to see pictures.