Police have charged a man after a Crime Stoppers tip-off lead to police discovering cannabis in Belmont this morning.

About 12pm today (Thursday 5 March 2015), police from Lake Macquarie Local Area Command attended a home on Stanley Street as a result of information received from a Crime Stoppers report.

Upon their arrival, officers detected a strong smell of cannabis.

Police spoke with the 24-year-old male occupant before searching the premises and yard.

Inside the home, police seized a number of pieces of dried cannabis, eight plants in a hydroponic set-up, and 16 cannabis plants in the rear yard.

A 24-year-old man was arrested and taken to Charlestown Police Station, where he was charged with cultivating a prohibited plant and possessing a prohibited plant.

He was granted conditional bail to appear at Belmont Local Court on Wednesday 25 March 2015.