Article by kind permission of Lancashire Evening Post

Published Date: 22 June 2009 By  Emma Broom

They sniff out crime on a daily basis.But a pair of police officers used their noses, and their heads, to uncover a drug den.

PCSOs Jackie Fulham and James Martin were on a routine cycle patrol in Ingol, Preston, when they suddenly got a strong whiff of cannabis.

The pair cycled up and down Tag Lane and made some inquiries until they pinpointed the smell as coming from a house opposite The Local shop.

Later, officers from the police's drugs intelligence unit searched the house and seized around 150 plants.

PCSO Fulham, who made the discovery on Thursday, said: "There was just a strong smell of cannabis all over Tag Lane.

"We were outside The Local shop across the road and that was where the smell was at its strongest."

The two officers later looked inside the house and saw the whole operation which was taking place all over the house.

She said: "To our surprise, it wasn't just one plant, it was quite a lot. It was upstairs and downstairs in most of the rooms. They looked like rows of trees.

"I think they were quite mature as well, so they wouldn't have been there for much longer.We felt pleased we did a good day's work."

She said locals had previously told police they suspected criminal activity in the area.

But an Ingol resident, who asked not to be named, said the house looked just like any other from the outside.

Det Insp Dave McKenna from Preston CID said: "This was a first-class piece of work by PCSOs Jackie Fulham and James Martin and is an excellent example of neighbourhood policing in action."

A 29-year-old man from Bury was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the production of a class B drug. He was released on bail until August 5