Appeal after cannabis grow discovered following house fire

We are appealing for information after officers found a cannabis grow following a flat fire in Stoke-on-Trent.

Colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service notified us of a house fire at 10.20pm yesterday (Tuesday 10 October) at a flat on Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent.

The blaze was extinguished just after 11.15pm and 20 cannabis plants were later discovered inside. Fire crews deemed the fire to have been started deliberately.

If you have any information that could help us with our investigation, call 101, quoting incident 873 of 10 October, or message us using Live Chat on our website.

To report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

We are continuing to proactively target those involved in drug cultivation across Staffordshire as part of our Operation Levidrome commitment.

Aside from the links the grows have with organised crime groups, there are also significant fire safety concerns linked to cannabis farming and the risks involved in setting them up, tampering with electric supply and maintaining them.

It’s vital that anyone who notices any signs of a potential cannabis grow gets in touch with us so we can minimise the changes of fires happening and proactively target the groups responsible for running them.

To read more about how you can spot the signs of cannabis cultivation in your area, visit: Cannabis farms | Staffordshire Police