Herb Fellow
New Member
A mum-to-be today told how police smashed their way into her Merseyside home — expecting to find a cannabis farm. Cops swooped at the house in Green Gates, Huyton, on Tuesday while seven-months-pregnant Nicola King and her boyfriend were asleep in bed.
It appears sophisticated computer equipment aboard the force helicopter detected an unusual heat source coming from the roof of the house. But a quick search of the property revealed it was coming from an uninsulated boiler located in the loft.
Today Merseyside Police apologised to the couple for any distress caused by the early morning drama. But they say the smashed down door could cost as much as £400 to repair.
Nicola, 24, said the 10-strong squad burst into the house at 7.30am as she and her delivery man partner James Dowding, 22, dozed upstairs. She told the ECHO: "We heard a banging sound which seemed like someone was kicking a football against the wall. "Then there was a big smash and there were loads of police dressed in riot gear with guns running about the house. "My partner went downstairs and they pushed him face down onto the couch.
"They went straight to the loft but soon realised there was nothing there and they had made a mistake. "They just tried to make a joke about it and when we asked about the damage they said 'you may get money back, but we can't guarantee it'.
"They could have handled this much better. They made a mistake and yet we have to pick up the pieces and pay for the damage." Nicola said she has already forked out £200 for a new door. But further joinery work is likely to push the overall cost of damage towards £400.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "We would like to apologise for any distress the occupants experienced. "The address was visited as part of a series of planned raids on that day.
"We do carry out rigorous checks prior to execution of warrants but, regrettably on this occasion, the information available to us was misleading. Drug raids obviously involve an element of covert and tactical policing for them to be productive. We would like to reassure the community that a further warrant carried out that day, with similar information, led to the finding of a cannabis farm and the arrest of two people for the cultivation of cannabis. These raids were part of Merseyside Police's war on drugs specifically around the production of cannabis."
The spokesman said the couple could apply to the force to claim compensation for the damage caused to their door.
Source: The Liverpool Echo
Copyright: 2008, The Liverpool Echo
Contact: Luke Traynor, luketraynor@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Website: icLiverpool - Police: Sorry we thought your boiler was a cannabis factory
It appears sophisticated computer equipment aboard the force helicopter detected an unusual heat source coming from the roof of the house. But a quick search of the property revealed it was coming from an uninsulated boiler located in the loft.
Today Merseyside Police apologised to the couple for any distress caused by the early morning drama. But they say the smashed down door could cost as much as £400 to repair.
Nicola, 24, said the 10-strong squad burst into the house at 7.30am as she and her delivery man partner James Dowding, 22, dozed upstairs. She told the ECHO: "We heard a banging sound which seemed like someone was kicking a football against the wall. "Then there was a big smash and there were loads of police dressed in riot gear with guns running about the house. "My partner went downstairs and they pushed him face down onto the couch.
"They went straight to the loft but soon realised there was nothing there and they had made a mistake. "They just tried to make a joke about it and when we asked about the damage they said 'you may get money back, but we can't guarantee it'.
"They could have handled this much better. They made a mistake and yet we have to pick up the pieces and pay for the damage." Nicola said she has already forked out £200 for a new door. But further joinery work is likely to push the overall cost of damage towards £400.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "We would like to apologise for any distress the occupants experienced. "The address was visited as part of a series of planned raids on that day.
"We do carry out rigorous checks prior to execution of warrants but, regrettably on this occasion, the information available to us was misleading. Drug raids obviously involve an element of covert and tactical policing for them to be productive. We would like to reassure the community that a further warrant carried out that day, with similar information, led to the finding of a cannabis farm and the arrest of two people for the cultivation of cannabis. These raids were part of Merseyside Police's war on drugs specifically around the production of cannabis."
The spokesman said the couple could apply to the force to claim compensation for the damage caused to their door.
Source: The Liverpool Echo
Copyright: 2008, The Liverpool Echo
Contact: Luke Traynor, luketraynor@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Website: icLiverpool - Police: Sorry we thought your boiler was a cannabis factory
