A cannabis factory sparked a blaze at a Black Country home.

Cannabis factories have been to blame for around one house fire every fortnight over the past year, it emerged today.

The “trusted lieutenant” of a gang that ran a Staffordshire cannabis farm and smuggled £86,000 of the drugs through the Black Country was today starting a five-year jail sentence.

A haul of about 30 cannabis plants have been found growing in a house on a new estate.

A Vietnamese illegal immigrant has pleaded guilty to running a cannabis factory worth more than £100,000 in Smethwick.

A specialist West Midlands police squad which was formed to crack down on the soaring number of cannabis factories has stopped £18million worth of the drug flooding the region’s streets.

A machete, a taser and a hunting knife have been seized today and three men from the same family arrested during a series of raids in Coseley.

Up to £50,000 worth of cannabis was found in a police raid on a house in Coseley.

An attic full of cannabis plants was uncovered in a police raid on a house in Staffordshire.

A gang of criminals from Staffordshire and the Black Country intended to flood the streets with £2.75million of cannabis a year from a huge drugs factory.