Cannabis plants worth £64k are seized in Tipton

Police raided a house in Tipton today and seized cannabis plants worth more than £64,000.

Around 10 officers broke down the back door to the semi-detached house on Watt Road at 7.30am.

They discovered one of the three bedrooms upstairs and the loft space had been converted into a cannabis factory.

There were around 80 smaller plants in the bedroom, and a further 80 more mature plants in the loft space, all in black plastic pots. Each plant has a street value of around £400.

Police believe the occupants of the house had tampered with the electricity supply when they had set up lighting and heating to help the plants grow. Police arrested one 41-year-old Vietnamese woman on suspicion of producing cannabis, they also suspect she may be in the country illegally .

Sergeant Steph Court who lead the operation said: "We are really pleased with how this operation has gone today. We are not sure how long this factory has been here, or how many yields it has already produced. But we are pleased we have got more drugs off the streets of Tipton."

Neighbours were left shocked and concerned when they heard the police breaking through the door.

Joan Wardley, aged 73, who has lived on Watt Road for 42 years said: "I didn't know what was going on, I just heard the noise. I am gobsmacked they were growing cannabis there. It is such a quiet street, you just would not have thought it."

Police have now called in engineers from the electricity board to make sure the house is safe. Police forensics officers will then examine the scene before specialist teams will come in to clear the house of the plants.