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Drugs house up in flames

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"I had to go upstairs and check for myself and saw the smoke pouring out"
A nreighbour
Published Date:
23 February 2010
News reporter
A house used as a cannabis factory has been destroyed in a huge blaze.
Fire crews had to rip a hole in the roof to bring the fire at the semi-detached property in Wharfedale Road, Corby, under control. The blaze was so fierce they were unable to tackle it through the windows.

Neighbours said flames could be seen pouring from the building as plumes of smoke rolled across the tiled roof of the house and the adjoining property.

One neighbour said: "My son came in and said that next door's house was on fire and I didn't believe him.

"I had to go upstairs and check for myself and saw the smoke pouring out."

It is not thought anyone was in the house when the fire broke out just before 3.30pm yesterday, but someone was in the adjoining house, where it is feared the fire had spread through the roof.

Five fire engines were called to the blaze which took several hours to bring under control.

A fire service spokesman said the fire "completely engulfed" the house.

Police said it was too early to know whether the fire was started deliberately. They said they would have to wait for results from the fire investigation unit, who would be at the house this morning.

The house was raided by police on Sunday, February 7, who found 400 cannabis plants inside.

The drugs factory was discovered by officers after a neighbour tipped off officers about suspicious activity at the three-bedroom home.

Residents said they had seen police get out of riot vans and burst into the house before removing plants and drug cultivating equipment.

A Vietnamese man aged 26 was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.

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  • Last Updated: 24 February 2010 8:30 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Kettering
 
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thegoodoldboysfromsaga,

24/02/2010 08:36:31
These houses that are used for "Dope Heads" should be repossessed from the landlord and handed to the council for social housing needs.
2

NicB,

24/02/2010 09:09:57
@thegoodoldboysfromsaga
>>should be repossessed from the landlord
Er, many landlords do not know that this is happening. Generally, there's a clause in letting leases that allow for a landlord to inspect a house they own regularly, at a time convenient for the tenant, but most simply don't bother if their tenant is paying the rent, not complaining and the neighbours are happy.

I do partly agree with you - the houses should be confiscated and handed over for social housing, but only when the landlords are convicted of something (I believe it's a crime if they know what the house is being used for and they fail to inform the police)
3

DT,

Kettering 24/02/2010 12:21:10
Most houses are let through agents anyway - the landlord pays a hefty commission for the agency to be responsible for the tenants chosen and checking up on the property.
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thegoodoldboysfromsaga,

24/02/2010 13:29:11
Hey hold on guys !! If he can afford to buy the house and take no interest in what happens to it, or cares about the impact it has on decent neighbourhoods then he should loose it.These landlords do not care about the family next door or across the street they just want money money and more money so they can live in a nice area, preferably somewhere hot with a pool !!!
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DT,

Kettering 24/02/2010 13:52:15
Fair comment, but how does a landlord check credit references, previous conduct, employment etc.? That's why he pays an agent - to take a risk on his behalf, and lots of landlords live a long way from their properties.
I'm not going to diss landlords too much - I was forced away from my home town in the south and ended up with a millstone mortgage because there was no rented accommodation or council housing available. The trend for renting out houses has enabled people to be far more mobile and flexible.
It's not the landlord's fault if people want to use his home for this purpose, unless he really hasn't bothered to check anything out at all, or worse, knows that the people he is renting to are dodgy.
Chinese/Vietnamese people (who mostly run these houses)have no right of abode in Britain anyway, so someone is possibly subletting to them? When they are caught, they often seem to be 'of no fixed address'.
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NicB,

24/02/2010 14:18:33
DR is dead right - I have one property (I fell into renting it out by accident), I know the tenant personally and I have the time to stay in touch with her, and in fact, the neighbours.

But if I had 5, I'd struggle and I know landlords who handle many more than that, and need an agent. And you're going to *steal* their property because an agent fails to do the checks or is negligent?

I'm sorry, but asking landlords to do that is just plain stupid. If a scheme like that was implemented, the net effect would be that most landlords would simply dump their properties on the market and leave it empty until they got a decent price. Better empty and owned that stolen from us. You'd have mass evictions, masses of empty houses (which is even worse than a smattering of dodgy tenants) and no-one willing to take the risk of renting them out.

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thegoodoldboysfromsaga,

24/02/2010 14:52:24
If you own 5 houses its a damn good business so run it as such. No one forces these people to buy 5 houses to rent out !!! It is just bl88dy GREED!!!
8

Layla's best friend,

Northampton 24/02/2010 16:12:44
Where's all the 'Smokin' jokes...?
9

flowerlady,

irthlingborough 24/02/2010 17:05:47
i think that the utility companies (electricity especially), should be able to tell what kind of rate of elec is a normal amount to use in a residential property ?? and should be able or be made to report this if there is a raised level( which there must be in these dens )
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Ray Rodden,

Corby 24/02/2010 17:14:33
one of the first things they do is bypass the meter. the elec companies may see a slight spike in demand for an area but it would not be significant.

When a landlprd or agent lets out a property their should be a system of regular checks with 24 hours noitice for the first six months.

If no checks made a large fine imposed if a drugsfarm is found.

Lorry drivers are fined for illegal immigrants. Companies arefined for employment breaches this is simply anextension of getting people to be responsible for their own actions or inactions

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