MANICURED lawns and perfectly preened gardens front up this quiet corner of residential Churchdown.
Children's toys scatter play areas and communal green spaces. Crime here is low.
But, behind the scenes, a criminal gang had established a chemical factory in a disused garage, churning out hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of high grade cocaine, ready for the streets of Gloucester.
This community looks out for each other. And it was a community tip-off that alerted police to suspicious activity outside a garage in Oakhurst Close.
Criminal activity on this scale was so discreet, most neighbours knew nothing of the detail of the police raid in October. Many thought it was simply the recovery of stolen goods. Neighbours were stunned at the find – and size of the haul.
Even the garage owner, who offered the unit on loan, was totally unaware of the illegal activity taking place inside. Not wanting to be named, she was pulled in and quizzed by CID detectives and confronted with a block of high grade cocaine. She was later released without charge.
Window cleaner Andrew Beck, 29, who lives in Cheltenham, serves around 50 homes across this part of Churchdown every month.
He sees many things from his vantage point, but noticed nothing unusual.
"I have been working in this area for two years and am completely shocked," he said. "This is a nice area, lots of families and retired people – certainly not rough. I cannot believe crime on this level was happening here. You would expect this amount of drugs in a big city like
Birmingham or Manchester – but not little Churchdown."
The parish council was equally shocked.
Its leader, Pearl Stokes, said: "I get calls from people about grass verges being too long, or bad parking – but not drugs."
