Drug farm find at fire restaurant

The Lotus restaurant with its fire-ravaged roof

A CANNABIS farm was discovered by firefighters as they tackled a blaze at a Chinese restaurant in Mossley.

Houses surrounding the Lotus restaurant in Manchester Road, bottom Mossley, were evacuated on Friday morning, and a police road block set up preventing vehicles approaching the scene from 250 metres in either direction.

Pedestrians were also turned away by police as firefighters from Oldham, Ashton and Stalybridge fought the blaze which raged through the two-storey building.

Emergency crews made the shock discovery shortly after they were called out to the blazing building around 6.30am.

They called in police who set up traffic diversions, and who were then forced to wait for the area to be declared safe by fire officers before they could start investigations.