At the end of December there was a ring on our doorbell at about 9 am. Outside there was a very evident smell of gas, and I was greeted by a gas engineer who said they thought the leak was coming from next door (they’d been alerted by the paper delivery service from Anne’s Community Store) – they’d tried the bell but no response (not surprising as the house seemed empty). I gave the engineer the landlady’s mobile phone number. About half an hour later the road was full of gas & electricity vans, all services in the area had been switched off and a locksmith called – it was then discovered that the front door was bolted on the inside; so the police and fire brigade came with added assistance – finally, the fire brigade achieved entry!

It was discovered that the entire property was being used as a cannabis farm! Quite amazing – and not surprising that they were the quietest of neighbours!

On a very sober side, the criminals had illegally tapped into the electricity supply and this cabling had overheated until finally it had melted the mains plastic gas pipe – hence the smell of gas – and the potential for a catastrophic explosion.

(the photograph, taken by one of my neighbours, shows the inside of one of the rooms after the police removed the plants!)