Drug farm found inside pele tower

Jan 7 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal

A CANNABIS farm has been discovered inside a centuries-old pele tower which lies at the heart of a sleepy Northumberland village.

Firefighters who forced their way into the historic 14th Century pele tower in Whittingham, west of Alnwick, found that part of it was being used to cultivate the drug.

They alerted police who recovered 70 immature cannabis plants and associated growing equipment from the three-storey stone tower.

The seizure happened after firefighters were called out at 6.30am on New Year’s Day to a fire in a caravan located on land next to the tower.

The blaze, which destroyed the caravan, is believed to have been started by an electrical fault. Because the caravan was wired up to the tower, firefighters forced their way into the unoccupied building where they discovered the cannabis farm.

Northumbria Police said a 40-year-old man from Cambois, Northumberland, was arrested following the seizure of the plants and growing equipment. He has been bailed until March on suspicion of cultivating cannabis, while investigations continue into the discovery.

The incident has shocked people in Whittingham, where the pele tower is a historic centrepiece of the village.

Three years ago it was sold at auction for £80,000, after being put up for sale by its owner, Lord Ravensworth of Eslington.

The grade II-listed structure had deteriorated to the point where it had been on the English Heritage buildings at risk register since 2002. Yesterday one Whittingham resident, who asked not to be named, said village people were “absolutely stunned and amazed” at the discovery.