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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hot to trot: Pamela Hardcastle with Simon her pampered guinea pig outside the super-heated garage police thought was a cannabis factory


Embarrassed police have issued an apology to a mother after officers swooped on her house thinking she had turned it into a cannabis factory - and found an electric heater for her two guinea pigs 'Simon' and 'Kenny'.

Six officers, in three vehicles, rushed to Pam Hardcastle's home and the 42-year-old was shocked to receive a call from her mother telling her the police were asking her to return from work.

The officers had been alerted when a police helicopter picked up a hotspot on the roof of Pam's garage and assumed it was a drug den, when in fact it was a cosy home for her loveable pets.

Pam, a primary school learning mentor, was forced to return home to Bradford after officers from West Yorkshire Police obtained a search warrant believing they had uncovered a specialist heating system designed to grow cannabis.

She said: 'The officer said they wanted me to go home. He said my garage lit up when the police helicopter was out and they believed I could be growing cannabis.
'He said they had a warrant and they wanted to search my premises.

'It was unbelievable. My mum told them I had guinea pigs in the garage and would have a heater in there to keep them warm. But they cut a bolt off my neighbour's gate to gain entry.

'My neighbours told me police were everywhere. Everybody was asking what I had done wrong. It is embarrassing.'

Simon and Kenny belong to Pam's ten-year-old son Jack. They have lived in her garage for three months and she had put the heater inside because she was concerned they would get cold.

She added: 'I have no criminal record. I haven't even got an unpaid bill. I told the police I was squeaky clean and they said they knew, but they wanted to look in the garage.


Mistaken identity: Simon shares the cosy garage with his fellow guinea pig Kenny



Whoops: A police helicopter used a thermal imaging camera to capture this image of Mrs Hardcastle's garage


'When I opened it up and they saw the guinea pigs, they didn't say anything. They were in the garage two seconds and they left. People are now wondering what I've been up to, it's like I've been branded a drug dealer.

'I have contacted a solicitor because I am concerned I might now have a criminal record. I am worried that this would come up on a CIB check if I went for another job. People think there's no smoke without fire.'

Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Darren Brown said: 'The majority of operations of this nature are intelligence-based and often rely upon swift action.

'Due to the location of the garage, we could not make further observations without alerting the occupants. On this occasion, it transpired that the significant heat source coming from the property was not connected to the production of cannabis.

'Officers who attended explained the full circumstances to the occupant and discussed any damage. I would like to apologise for the distress this may have caused. However, I would point out that these tactics are essential in tackling drugs across the district.

'I can also reassure the occupants that their details will not be kept on police records and I will be personally visiting them to discuss any concerns they may have.'

Pam said that a police inspector had now visited her to issue an apology in person and the police had bought a new lock for the neighbour's gate.


source: dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Beattie beside the box in which she was dumped and the note from the confused owner who thought she was a boy and named her Fred


This blind baby guinea pig escaped from the jaws of death - literally - after it was plucked to safety from the compacter of a dustbin lorry.

The tiny animal had been callously dumped in a cardboard box and placed on top of a wheelie bin which was on the pavement waiting to be tipped into the lorry's crusher.

The box had previously contained a BT phone and answer machine and, along with the four-month old guinea pig, there was a note which read 'His name is Fred. Please take care of it thank you :).'

But the black, white and ginger animal is actually a female and has been renamed Beattie by staff at animal charity the RSPCA.

Animal welfare officer Sue Brooks took little Beattie to a nearby vet in Southampton for an examination.

'This poor creature had a very lucky escape,' she said. 'Had someone not thought to look in the box before putting it inside a bin she could easily have been thrown in the back of a rubbish lorry and been crushed in its metal jaws.

'There is never an excuse for abandoning an animal in this way and I would urge anyone with information about this animal to contact the RSPCA so we can ensure there are no other animals in the home which are not being properly cared for.'

Vets discovered Beattie to have a shrunken right eye and little vision in her left eye.

Her eye problems were probably birth defects possibly as a result of her being undernourished while still in the womb, suggesting her mother may not have been adequately fed when she was pregnant.

RSPCA investigators hope that the BT phone box in the picture may provide some clues as to who is responsible for dumping Beattie, and attempts are being made to trace the serial number on the box.

Despite her ordeal the RSPCA said Beattie was eating well and does not seem to mind being handled.

She is currently being cared for at the RSPCA Ashley Heath animal centre near Ringwood, Hampshire, but is not yet ready for rehoming.


source: dailymail