Residents feel worried after a fire tore through a cannabis factory in a city street.
Police officers have been standing guard outside a home in Radcliffe Road, Southampton.
A forensics team was spotted investigating the illegal operation in the Northam area on Thursday afternoon.
READ MORE: Fire that destroyed cannabis factory warehouse unexplained
Firefighters were scrambled at around 4am on Wednesday to reports of a blaze in a first-floor bedroom.
However, on entry, they found cannabis plants and police were called to attend.
The fire is believed to have been sparked by ‘makeshift wiring’ with the situation made worse by ‘water flowing through the ceiling’.
Officers have been dismantling the set-up but no one has been arrested.
Police have warned that cannabis production can pose a serious fire risk to anyone living inside factories and to neighbouring properties.
Retired carpenter and Radcliffe Road man, Vic Newbury told how he got up on Wednesday night.
READ MORE: Pictures and videos show cannabis factory engulfed in flames
READ MORE: More than 160 cannabis plants seized after police raid
He said: “I just looked out the window and just saw a load of police cars and coppers standing around.”
The 93-year-old added: “You used to get a lot of dealing in the park. Different people turning up in cars and walking through and sometimes it was pretty obvious, you know, and people were on the phone and then there used to be, periodically, raids up the road and they used to take somebody away.
“It worries me that people smoking that [cannabis] are doing themselves a lot of damage.
“That's what worries me.
“These attempts and houses that are taken over illegally and then beating them to pieces and running all kinds of stuff through… lights and everything.”
A carer returning from work, and who wished to remain unnamed, said: “There were police cars. Just a police car parked there, but a man was in it.
“That was the only reason I noticed. Not being funny, but you get police cars around here quite a lot.
“But when I came in late last night, like gone 10, there was a police car sat there and there was a man in it.
“And as I drove around to try and find a space, there was another police car the other side of the park with a man sat in it.
And I thought ‘that's weird. That's not normal.’"
Crews from St Mary’s and Hightown Fire Stations were initially called to blaze which involved floorboards.
Firefighters cut away remaining boards to check for fire spread before using ventilation fans to clear smoke.
An electrical engineer was then called as the fire was caused by overloaded electrics.
The incident was left with police and firefighters left the scene shortly after 6am on Wednesday.
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