Armed officers swoop on Tipton after group seen fighting with knives and bats before drugs den raided
Police dispatched armed officers after up to 20 people were seen fighting with knives and bats in Tipton.
The group had made off by the time officers had arrived at Horseley Road last night at around 9pm.
A few minutes later officers received a further report of a cannabis factory above a fast-food shop being broken into.
Again armed response officers went to the location where they found a cannabis grow in four separate rooms.
No-one was in the property but the door had been forced open. This will now be cleared and the address boarded up as inquiries are on-going.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We were called after 15-20 people were seen fighting with knives and bats in Horseley Heath, Tipton just after 9pm last night.
"We immediately dispatched armed response officers, but the group had made off by the time they got there just a few minutes later.
"A short time later we received a further report of a cannabis factory above a fast-food shop being robbed less than a mile away.
"We’re working hard to address the issues that affect communities and drugs have no place on our streets."
A police van and officers were seen in the area surrounding the Rising Sun Pub.
The incident happened at around 7pm last night, according to reports on social media.
The road was reopen on Tuesday morning but police tape could be seen in the area.
One woman, who lived nearby, said: "It used to be a very quiet area but it isn't anymore.
"It's quite scary now to even come out of the house, especially after a certain time. Someone near Jubilee Park was stabbed not too long ago, and the One Stop shop nearby it seems that's always getting targeted and robbed.
"It's getting quite bad around here and it's really scary, especially if you've got kids."
Others described the area as being "very quiet" and were shocked to hear about the incident, whilst a man thought there had been a fatal incident initially due to seeing three cars.
Meanwhile, police vehicles were spotted nearby on Horseley Heath, near a row of shops and The Horseley Heath pub and close to the Dudley Port railway station.
