No cannabis farm charges a year on from Sankey Street fire

Firefighters called out to tackle a large building fire in on Sankey Street on November 17 last year.

Flames engulfed the upper floors of Efes Brasserie restaurant on Sankey Street after breaking out at 6.20am.

Five fire engines from Warrington, Penketh, Lymm and Birchwood fire stations were dispatched to the scene of the blaze, as well as aerial appliances.

They left the scene after more than 14 hours, with Cheshire Police crime scene investigators spotted at the premises.

Firefighters tackle the blaze

The force confirmed the following day that detectives investigating the fire discovered that the building was being used to house a professional cannabis farm.

An investigation by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters concluded that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

Despite almost a year passing since the blaze, Cheshire Police has confirmed that it yet to charge anyone in connection with the cannabis farm, with no arrests reported.

At the time, Inspector Danny Haddock said: “We are committed to doing all we can to establish who was responsible for the cannabis farm.

Firefighters tackle the blaze

“The premises is located near to the junction of Sankey Street and Parker Street, and as part of our enquiries, we are keen to hear from anyone in the area who believes that they may have witnessed anything that did not look quite right in recent weeks or months (leading up to the fire).

“The same goes for anyone with any CCTV or dashcam footage which may aid our investigation.”

Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to call Cheshire Police on 101, quoting IML 1133488, or give the details via cheshire.police.uk/ro/report

Alternatively, information can be reported anonymously via Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.