Droitwich High Street: 'huge' cannabis farm in derelict shop

Two arrests were also made as officers smashed their way into the former shop at 4 High Street in Droitwich at 7am today (Wednesday) to find the sophisticated grow, capable of making nearly £500,000 on the street.

A 20-year-old man and a 39-year-old, understood to have been living at the property, were cornered and detained in the overgrown back yard as they attempted to escape.

PRESENCE: Officers at the cannabis grow at 4 Droitwich High Street, described by officers as 'a derelict former sweetshop' (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

Both were arrested on suspicion of the production of cannabis, a class B drug, and are in custody at Worcester Police Station in Castle Street.

The estimated value of the cannabis, if sold in street deals, was estimated by police at £491,000. 

Every single plant will now be catalogued and destroyed.

VITAL: A scenes of crime officer (SOCO) arrives at the scene to meticulously catalogue the cannabis grow for evidential purposes following the drugs raid at 4 High Street in Droitwich (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

Officers from West Mercia Police smashed their way inside using an enforcer (a metal battering ram) and a rabbit, a hydraulic entry device, discovering plants at various stages of maturity and in nine rooms spread over three floors. 

The warrant was a joint effort between Droitwich Safer Neighbourhood Team, who gathered intelligence based on concerns raised by the community, and the Neighbour Crime Fighting Team (NCFT) who secured a court warrant. 

HUGE: This is just one of nine rooms over three floors taken up with an 'industrial sized' cannabis grown at 4 High Street in Droitwich (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

DI Dave Knight of West Mercia Police said: "Whatever your view is on cannabis the facts around illegal cannabis production and consumption are clear, that it feeds organised crime and also facilitates modern day slavery. We will do all we can to remove these cannabis factories from the West Mercia Police area."

ESSENTIAL: PC Sarah Clarke of Droitwich Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) helped explain to the public and businesses what had happened during the warrant which was secured after concerns were raised by the community - intelligence from the public is considered vital in tackling drugs (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

A heavy smell of cannabis still hung in the air as shoppers walked along the High Street - and it was the smell that alerted the public.

It is understood the grow was powered by abstracted electricity which had to be capped off by workers from the National Grid before it was cut altogether which involved digging up the pavement outside. 

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PC Warren Edmunds of the NCFT said cannabis grows in houses typically involved between 50 and 150 plants and this grow was the largest NCFT had dealt with since it was formed last July.

EFFORT: Workers had to dig up the pavement to cut off the supply of electricity to the cannabis grow in Droitwich High Street (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

Sgt Shaun Blackshaw described the grow as an 'industrial-sized', comparable to the sort ordinarily found in larger warehouses rather than houses or shops.

For example, nearly 500 plants were discovered in a warehouse in Hanbury, near Droitwich in February.

Sgt Blackshaw said officers would be at the scene well into the evening.