[ExelePlavisseu]

By Luke Salkeld PUBLISHED: 21:32 GMT, 7 May 2012

'Respectable' tenants turned our house into a cannabis farm'

A husband and wife who let their house to a ‘respectable’ Chinese couple returned to find it had been turned
into a drug factory. Shaun and Katie Thomas found hundreds of cannabis plants, eight tons of soil stored in
the attic, and a new ventilation system. Their bedroom was filled with the illegal foliage as well as specialist
lighting to help the crop grow.

The tenant, whom they knew as Lee Yishi, fled with another man when 28-year-old Mr Thomas arrived to inspect
the four-bedroom house in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The couple now face an estimated £20,000 bill to restore their
home to its former state, and fear its value has fallen from £175,000 to £130,000.

The house was insured but they have received no compensation because they were not covered for ‘malicious
damage’. Meanwhile ‘Lee’ has disappeared and police say their attempts to find him have drawn a blank.