IN PICTURES: Cannabis factory sparks flat blaze
Fire crews discovered a blazing cannabis factory - made up of 200 plants - in a flat in Smethwick after responding to a 999 call today from a member of the public.
Flames were spotted at the fourth-floor window of a five-storey block in Beakes Road by a resident living opposite just before 8.30am.
Firefighters had to break into the apartment where they found the source of the blaze in a back bedroom where cannabis plants were being grown on a commercial basis.
Large metal tubing, cables and lights were suspended from the ceiling above dozens of mature cannabis plants. No one was in the flat at the time.
Watch commander Wayne Little, of West Midlands Fire Service, said the fire had been caused by the production of cannabis, 'putting other residents at risk.'
The fire was brought under control by 9.45am. The flat and the rest of the building was heavily smoke-logged.
West Midlands Police spokeswoman Gina Lycett said: "We were called at around 9.10am this morning by the fire service following a report of a small electrical fire at a flat on Beakes Road, Smethwick.
"When officers gained entry a cannabis factory containing approx 200 plants were found. Enquiries are still ongoing to locate the owner of the property."
It was the second cannabis farm discovery of the weekend after police raided a property in Wolverhampton acting on a tip-off.
Officers executed a search warrant at a premises in Stanley Road, Bushbury at around 11am yesterday where a small cannabis farm was found. Some 35 plants were seized.
No one was at the property and police are trying to trace the owner.
