Police hunt grower after cannabis farm found in disused building near Swindon
Thames Valley Police found a cannabis farm inside a disused building near Swindon on 28 October 2026 and said officers were trying to identify the 'budding gardener' behind it. The discovery came after an earlier arrest that day in a separate Class A drugs case, in which a man has since been charged and remanded.
🇬🇧 Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire · United Kingdom
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Police are looking for the person who ran a cannabis farm found inside a disused
building.[1] The building was near Swindon.[1] Officers from Thames Valley
Police’s South Oxon and Vale of White Horse division discovered the grow on
Wednesday 28 October, during a busy day for the Faringdon Neighbourhood Team.[1] Police said enquiries were now ongoing to identify the person behind the
grow, described as a ‘budding gardener’.[2]
The discovery came after officers arrested a man on suspicion of possession with
intent to supply Class A drugs earlier that day.[1] He has since been charged
and remanded to appear in court, and officers also seized his car.[1]
Thames Valley Police said drug dealing ‘has no place in our communities’ and
that officers would continue to pursue those involved and take positive action
wherever possible.[1] The force asked residents to report anything unusual or
suspicious, saying the information they provide could be exactly what officers
need to take action.[1]
Photos and video
A cannabis farm uncovered by police in an abandoned Oxfordshire building. Photo: Thames Valley Police Source: Swindon Advertiser
No number of plants, weight, area or value for the cannabis farm was published.
The article names no town for the building, calling it only 'the town near Swindon'; the grow was found by the Faringdon Neighbourhood Team, and the district is used as the place.
No arrest, charge or court step over the cannabis farm has been reported.
It is not clear whether the farm was linked to the earlier arrest of a man on Class A drugs suspicion; his charge and remand are treated as a separate case.
Whether the plants were seized, destroyed or left in place, and whether officers searched under a warrant, was not reported.
Only the Swindon Advertiser and Oxford Mail accounts could be opened, and they are the same Newsquest article by the same reporter; no police statement or independent report was found.
The page's lead picture shows a car seized in the separate Class A drugs case, not the cannabis farm, so only the farm photo is listed.
South Yorkshire Police raided a house on St John's Road in Balby, Doncaster, arresting a 41-year-old man on suspicion of cannabis production. Officers found about 180 cannabis plants inside and kept a scene on while the cultivation was dismantled.
Police raided a home on Kings Bench Street in Hull on 2 November 2026, seizing an estimated 165 suspected cannabis plants spread over three floors. No arrests were named as enquiries continued to identify those behind the suspected grow.
West Yorkshire Police raided the disused Park Road Tannery in Bingley and seized 650 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £500,000. Two Albanian nationals were arrested at the scene, charged with production of a Class B drug and remanded in custody.
Police raided an address on Alford Drive in Glenrothes and found evidence of large-scale cannabis oil and edibles production, recovering 7kg of cannabis. A 34-year-old man was charged and will be reported for a number of offences.
