Drug den causes house fire in Marston Green

BURNED OUT: The property in Land Lane
Picture/West Midlands Fire Service

AN ELDERLY couple in Marston Green had to flee their home in the middle of the night after a cannabis factory concealed in next door's loft burst into flames.
The blaze broke out in the roof space of the Land Lane property in the early hours of Sunday (April 24.)
It's understood that the husband and wife living in the adjoining house were woken by the smell of burning and fled into the street.
Three crews from Sheldon Fire Station were called to the scene at just after 1am and fought hard to prevent the fire, which all but destroyed the roof, spreading to the neighbours' house. They successfully managed to put out the fire before first light.
West Midlands Police's cannabis disposal team confirmed that the blaze had been sparked by equipment inside the drug den.
The charred remnants of the hydroponic system, which had been used to grow the Class B drug, were recovered from the scene, but everything else had been destroyed by the flames.
Cannabis factories are a notorious fire risk, with electricity meters tampered with, hot lamps rigged to cultivate the plants and a watering system installed dangerously close to the electrics.