Police say 'report suspicions' as discovery made during Stapleford house fire

A large cannabis farm with more than 80 plants was uncovered by detectives and crews tackling a house fire in Stapleford. Two homes and electrical cables were found alight in Manor Avenue on Monday evening, November 25.

But on a closer inspection dozens of cannabis plants were found within one of the properties. Police say they believe the fire is believed to be linked to 'dangerous alterations made to the electrical system', and officers warned neighbours to report their suspicions going forward.

The fire was brought under control and nobody was injured. The plants were found spread across multiple rooms of the property, and they were removed with all of the associated growing equipment put beyond use.

Sergeant Simon Boyles, of Nottinghamshire Police, issued a stark warning and encouraged anyone with information to come forward. He said: "Cannabis grows of this nature pose a significant fire risk for various reasons – none more so than the illegal modifications that are routinely made in order to bypass electricity metres.

“The required lighting and heating equipment, meanwhile, generates a large amount of heat in an environment often piled high with fertilisers and other chemicals. That’s why it’s so important for neighbours to report their suspicions to us at an early stage, because fires like this could very quickly spread to adjoining properties.”

Nobody has been arrested yet in connection with the investigation. Anyone with additional information about the Stapleford grow is asked to call the force on 101, quoting incident 626 of November 25, 2024. Crimestoppers can also be called anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a large cannabis grow with more than 300 plants was found at a home in Lenton. Nottinghamshire Police carried out a raid on a property in Wollaton Hall Drive on the morning of Tuesday, November 26. Officers found hundreds of plants across six separate growing areas when they executed a warrant.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested and was taken into custody to be questioned on suspicion of producing a controlled drug of Class B. Inspector Liz Gaskin, of the City Central neighbourhood policing team, said: “The cultivation and supply of drugs causes misery and harm to all those that it impacts.

“I’m grateful to members of the public who gave us invaluable information about this grow. The team developed this intelligence to execute a successful warrant which put a large cannabis producing enterprise out of action."