Smoking shelter

Photo: Anthony Miller

MASSIVE find . . . a detective inspects some of the cannabis plants found in the pub

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Detectives have uncovered a £500,000 cannabis farm in a derelict Oldham pub.

The amazing find was discovered by workmen at The Spinners Tavern on Lees Road, who alerted police.

Some 2,000 healthy cannabis plants were growing in rooms over three floors of the disused building.

Although the pub has been empty for some time, there was evidence of people living there, said police. Officers spent the whole of yesterday removing the plants along with sophisticated equipment used for harvesting them.

One of the officers involved in the case, Detective Constable Darren Grafton, said: “It’s the biggest cannabis find I have ever seen. It was a highly professional operation with specialised equipment and an extraction system linking all the floors to the roof of the building.

“There were nutrients and other fertilising aids to help the growth of the cannabis. The plants themselves were laid out in neat lines across the rooms.”

Oldham Fire Brigade has one of its key stations opposite the pub.

The Chronicle understands that to talk to firefighters spread over five watches at the station to see if they had seen anything suspicious.

A duty watch commander at the station said: “The pub had been empty for sometime but the curtains were closed after the police arrived. We have not seen anything suspicious.”

And businesses near the scene expressed shock and surprise at the find.

An executive at Hopwood House, a doctor’s practice, said: “We have never seen any kind of activity at the building – we thought it derelict.

“It was only when police vehicles arrived our staff realized something was happening.”

One of the staff at Surosa Cycles, a business near the pub, said: “It’s a total surprise to us. We had just assumed the building was not in use anymore and we’ve never seen any signs of any one occupying the place.”

At HHS Hire, which has an outlet next to the pub, a staff member said: “No-one here has seen any signs of life at all in the pub itself.

"It’s a mystery.”

Although the pub has a Banks’s Tavern sign, a spokesman for the brewery in Wolverhampton said: “The pub is no longer one of ours.

“We have nothing to do with it or know who owns it.”

A GMP spokesperson added: “No-one has been arrested and police are continuing their inquiries.”

But they urged anyone who has any information about the cannabis farm or noticed any suspicious activity to call them on 0161-856 8951 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.