A CANNABIS farm has been discovered in a house owned by former Newcastle United favourite Steve Watson.

But police said the Geordie-born defender was not linked to the investigation, which was launched after a raid on his house in the Newcastle suburb of Darras Hall and another house in Lemington.

A police spokesman said: "We can confirm that we executed a search warrant at an address in Darras Hall and Lemington, in Newcastle, early this morning. Two substantial cannabis farms have been recovered, which are being examined by forensic science services.

"A man and a woman have been arrested and are helping police with their inquiries."

The spokesman added: "We can confirm that the house in Darras Hall is owned by Steve Watson. However, we do not intend to speak to him about this matter."

The house is rented out by Watson.

North Shields-born Watson played for Newcastle United for eight years. When he made his debut in 1990, against Wolves at the age of 16, he was the Magpies' youngest-ever player.

He went on to make 216 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 14 goals, and also played at under-21 level for England. The high-point of his career on Tyneside came in 1996 when he was in the Kevin Keegan side that came within a whisker of winning the Premiership title.

But he fell out of favour under the regime of Ruud Gullit and was sold to Aston Villa for £4m, followed by a move in 2000 to Everton for a fee of £2.5m.

The 30-year-old midfielder has enjoyed a new lease of life on Merseyside where he has scored five goals in 12 games this season to help guide Everton to third place in the Premiership table.

He was unavailable for comment last night.