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Police raided a disabled man's home after mistaking an ornamental cherry tree for a cannabis plant.
Simon Warner, 56, has been suffering panic attacks ever since Sunday's morning raid, when five officers raided his Upper Maze Hill flat.
Mr Warner said he believed police thought he was running a drugs den after smelling incense sticks and seeing plants in his window.
Mr Warner said: "I do not have anything to do with drugs or people with drugs. I don't even know what a cannabis plant looks like."
"I've got nothing against the police - but they should leave innocent people alone. I have always respected the law. But you can't go round breaking into people's houses.
Mr Warner suffers from severe back and neck pain which keeps him virtually house-bound. He leads a solitary life - alone in his flat with his four cats, reading books about fishing.
But his peaceful existence ended when police arrived at his home, clutching a battering ram. A shocked neighbour intervened and let officers in with a key before they could smash the door down.
Mr Warner said: "I heard this noise crashing outside my bedroom.
"Five policemen were filling up my lounge. I said 'who are you, who let you in?'
"They had a snoop round - there were plants in my kitchen. I have an ornamental flowering cherry tree and a dried up chrysanthemum. Would they look like cannabis plants to you?"
"They said they could smell drugs. It was lotus flower joss sticks, I use them because I like the smell and because I've got cats."
Mr Warner, a former panel beater at Ponswood Motors, suffered an angina attack and collapsed after the raid and has since made a complaint to the police.
He said: "I can't eat, I can't sleep, I feel sick all the time."
"They picked on the wrong person. One of them said 'oops' when they left - one said 'no hard feelings.'
"They can't walk over innocent people."
Police confirmed a drugs warrant was executed at an address in Upper Maze Hill, but no drugs were found. An officer is contacting him to discuss the matter, but Mr Warner is now speaking through his solicitor.
Superintendent Nick Bennett said: "I am making sure that the man's complaint will be properly investigated. We operate an active policy on all drug related crime which is keeping our priority crime levels down.
"However I recognise our information may not always be right. If that's the case here we will do everything we can to resolve this matter."
Source: Hastings Today
Copyright: 2005 Johnston Press New Media.
Website: https://www.hastingstoday.co.uk/
Simon Warner, 56, has been suffering panic attacks ever since Sunday's morning raid, when five officers raided his Upper Maze Hill flat.
Mr Warner said he believed police thought he was running a drugs den after smelling incense sticks and seeing plants in his window.
Mr Warner said: "I do not have anything to do with drugs or people with drugs. I don't even know what a cannabis plant looks like."
"I've got nothing against the police - but they should leave innocent people alone. I have always respected the law. But you can't go round breaking into people's houses.
Mr Warner suffers from severe back and neck pain which keeps him virtually house-bound. He leads a solitary life - alone in his flat with his four cats, reading books about fishing.
But his peaceful existence ended when police arrived at his home, clutching a battering ram. A shocked neighbour intervened and let officers in with a key before they could smash the door down.
Mr Warner said: "I heard this noise crashing outside my bedroom.
"Five policemen were filling up my lounge. I said 'who are you, who let you in?'
"They had a snoop round - there were plants in my kitchen. I have an ornamental flowering cherry tree and a dried up chrysanthemum. Would they look like cannabis plants to you?"
"They said they could smell drugs. It was lotus flower joss sticks, I use them because I like the smell and because I've got cats."
Mr Warner, a former panel beater at Ponswood Motors, suffered an angina attack and collapsed after the raid and has since made a complaint to the police.
He said: "I can't eat, I can't sleep, I feel sick all the time."
"They picked on the wrong person. One of them said 'oops' when they left - one said 'no hard feelings.'
"They can't walk over innocent people."
Police confirmed a drugs warrant was executed at an address in Upper Maze Hill, but no drugs were found. An officer is contacting him to discuss the matter, but Mr Warner is now speaking through his solicitor.
Superintendent Nick Bennett said: "I am making sure that the man's complaint will be properly investigated. We operate an active policy on all drug related crime which is keeping our priority crime levels down.
"However I recognise our information may not always be right. If that's the case here we will do everything we can to resolve this matter."
Source: Hastings Today
Copyright: 2005 Johnston Press New Media.
Website: https://www.hastingstoday.co.uk/
