DRUG POLICE SMASH DOWN FRONT DOOR OF INNOCENT GRAN IN CANNABIS SEARCH

DRUG-busting police smashed down the front door of a grandmother's
house in a hunt for a cannabis farm.

Anne Mayor was stunned when she returned to her small home in Aintree
to discover six officers had broken in and scoured it for drugs.

The 62-year-old today said police told her the force helicopter had
picked up a "heat source" from the Dallas Grove house where she has
lived all her life.

Merseyside police said it was mounting operations against cannabis
production in the area, but apologised for the mistake and promised to
pay for a new door.

Mrs Mayor had been enjoying a day out in Ormskirk with her 67-year-old
husband Richard when the drama emerged.

The retired hospital worker said: "My mobile number rang, but it was
my husband's number and he had left his phone on the kitchen counter.

"We started panicking because we thought that someone must be in the
house.

"When we arrived in our street, our neighbour told us the police had
just left and that they had broken into the house on suspicion of drugs."

Mrs Mayor said the force helicopter had been circling the area a few
days earlier and her four grandchildren had waved at it from the front
step.

She said: "The police said that there was a heat source coming from my
house and that the officer had smelt cannabis in this area.

"But we just live in a two up two down house. We don't have neighbours
on one side and the man on the other side works all the hours God sends.

"I have lived here all my life and my kids grew up here. I can't get
it into my head why on earth they would have picked on my house.

"The officer apologised, but I don't want an apology. It's not good
enough."

Inspector Paul Mann, from Merseyside police, said other warrants
executed that day led to 11 arrests, the seizure of cocaine, heroin
and cannabis and cash.

But he apologised to Mrs Mayor for the distress she
suffered.

He said: "Unfortunately because Mrs Mayor was not at home at the time
of the search an entry was forced, causing damage to the door.

"Her door was secured and repaired following the search and Merseyside
police is happy to pay for a new one."

Mr Mann said the raid was part of the area's total war on drugs,
specifically around the production of cannabis.