'Awful and disturbing' - neighbours react after man found dead at cannabis farm on quiet Sheffield street

Police made the discovery at a property on Rockley Road in Middlewood, close to Hillsborough Stadium, at around 5.45am on Sunday, July 12. Officers remained at the scene on Monday afternoon, with two neighbouring houses at the bottom of the street sealed off. Electricians were also spotted leaving one of the properties. The death is currently being treated as “unexplained”.

Michael Burley, who lives on the road, said: “You do get a group of lads outside that house now and then. I can always smell cannabis there, I can smell it now.

"They were digging the bottom of the road up yesterday and you could smell it [cannabis]. I don’t know if they have a big set-up.”

Cannabis could still be smelt outside the houses on Monday afternoon. And several neighbours claimed one of the rented properties was raided in November 2019, with £40,000 worth of cannabis plants discovered by police.

Michael added: “It’s probably the only house on the street where people don’t know what’s going on, it’s always been an anomaly.

"It’s a nice area, there’s a lot of young families on the road.”

Mary Offord, who also lives on the street, said: “There’s always been problems with cannabis there. Police had to break in last year. We have always had police down there.

"The area is lovely, we’ve been here for 37 years and never had problems. When you go down to the shops I can smell cannabis. A lot of neighbours say they have always smelt cannabis there, it’s a nightmare.”

Janice Burley, who has lived on the street for 40 years, said: “We’re concerned about what’s happened and what will happen again to who he [the landlord] rents it out to.

"Our neighbours lower down said there was a lot of shouting going on there [on Saturday]. It’s always been a point of concern. It’s a nice street to live in but an eyesore with them two houses.”

Jeff and Ann Stengierski, who have lived on Rockley Road for 20 years, said: “Last November the same property got busted for Marijuana production big style.

"It’s a multi-occupancy house, there’s a constant ticking in and out of kids.”

The couple said they saw police overseeing the removal of a Ford car from the street on Sunday afternoon as well as several forensics officers, uniformed police and electricians at the properties.

"We know them to nod to them [the tenants], they are good lads,” Jeff added.

"The police have been very cagey.”

He added: “The night prior to the ambulance turning up there was a lot of traffic coming down with pizzas and drinks and we were assuming they must have been having a small party.

“It’s a very,very nice area, we would like to know what’s gone off. It’s particularly disturbing if there’s loss of life. Whatever the problem, it’s awful. It’s a quiet road and everyone knows everyone. The lads there have always been civil and courteous.”