Cannock sign shop gutted after cannabis factory fire in flat above
A Cannock businessman has told of his devastation after his shop was damaged when a flat above, which was home to a cannabis factory, caught fire.
Jamie McMahon, the owner of Affordable Signs, on High Street, Walsall Wood, said it would cost him thousands of pounds to put right.
The fire took hold late on Saturday night. The blaze did not spread downstairs, but a ceiling has been wrecked and there has been extensive water damage to the shop and its machinery.
Mr McMahon, aged 42, said: "The shop has been completely devastated.
"All the machines are ruined because of the ceiling and water damage. They have had to rip the ceiling down.
"We have salvaged what we can but a lot has been ruined. I am devastated.
"I found out about it when someone phoned me to say my shop was on fire.
"The damage will be in the thousands.
"It has got to be rewired, new ceiling, new flooring.
"There will be hidden things on top of that as well. It is not going to be cheap."
Mr McMahon is hoping to temporarily operate from a new unit, opening today.
He said: "We are hoping to open in a unit about five minutes away from where the shop is. But that is all dependent on me being able to get the spare machine to work in there."
West Midlands Police is investigating the blaze. Officers attended just before 11.30pm and found 15 cannabis plants. No-one has been arrested.
