police officer's house raided due to heat Loss

UK: Heat-loss home sparks 'cannabis factory' raid
Raymond Brown
Cambridge News
Wednesday 30 Jul 2008


A WOMAN police officer's house was raided after a helicopter's infra-red camera spotted it as a suspected cannabis factory.

The home was emitting so much heat, officers thought it could be cultivating large quantities of the drug.

Police swooped on the house and the reason for the blazing heat became clear - not drug production but insufficient insulation.

Sawston police community support officer (PCSO) Zally Huseyen said the problem was caused because of poor quality workmanship on her new home.

The Cambridgeshire helicopter was on an unrelated mission when its camera homed in on the house in Lower Cambourne.

Officers later discovered the new £400,000 house was was pouring out extreme heat because it was so poorly insulated, claimed the mother of five.

The 46-year-old told the News about the police raid and how her "dream home" turned into a nightmare.

She said: "It was so embarrassing when we were raided. I saw the police car pull up and knew the sergeant.

"She recognised me when I answered the door. She was shocked and said three times, 'This is your house?'

"They showed me the footage from the helicopter and I couldn't believe it."

The defects in the Barrett home, which was built by David Wilson Homes five years ago, has cost the PCSO thousands of pounds since moving in a year ago.

The PCSO claims bodges include extractor fans that blow instead of suck, windows fitted the wrong way round, bags of cement and nails buried in the garden, a garage that floods regularly and shifting bricks.

Builders also failed to paint the wooden slatted house with fireproof paint. When they came to rectify the fault they just turned the slats around.

And because of poor insulation, the house pours out heat.

In cannabis "factories" fluorescent bulbs are used to grow the drug, which needs at least eight hours of daylight and temperatures of 15C.

Mrs Huseyen said: "The things they have done are a joke but they are not funny. I have been told they will do nothing about it as the warranty ran out two years ago."

David Bell, managing director for David Wilson Homes South Midlands, said: "All David Wilson homes are built to the highest specification and in accordance with all energy efficiency legislation and regulations.

"Each home undergoes a thorough independent inspection before being occupied.

"Since being contacted by Mrs Zally Huseyen regarding concerns over the energy efficiency of her home at Monksfield we have conducted additional investigations, including checking the insulation of the property, which found that the home complies with all the relevant standards."

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk

 

McCain

"Bush's 3rd Term"