Flames rip through house roof in Christmas Eve cannabis blaze
People inside the house and neighbours were forced to flee the fire.
A severe fire ripped through a cannabis farm forcing people to be evacuated on Christmas Eve.
Nine firefighters fought the blaze in the loft of a home in Pennyroyal Close, Tame Bridge, West Bromwich.
Dramatic images showed a gaping hole left in the roof as a firefighter doused the flames from a tall hydraulic platform.
WATCH: The aftermath of the fire
A cannabis farm in the loft was destroyed but nobody is thought to have been injured, West Midlands Police said.
West Midlands Fire Service sent two crews, from West Bromwich and Walsall, after receiving a 999 call at around 11.25am.
Residents of the affected house and the home next door were evacuated but it is not yet known if they managed to get out of the building themselves or were assisted by the emergency services.
Police were also sent to the semi-detached house which was cordoned off in the aftermath of the fire.
A neighbour, a 30-year-old woman, watched as flames ripped from the building's roof.
She told the Express & Star: "This is definitely shocking to see. You don't expect to see this on Christmas Eve."
An investigation into the cause of the blaze is underway.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We were alerted to a fire at Pennyroyal Close at just before 11.30am today.
"On arrival officers found a cannabis set-up in the loft, which had been destroyed by the fire.
"Enquiries are underway and anyone with information can contact us via Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight or call us on 101 at any time. Quote log 857 of December 24."
