Man jailed after police find out what he was doing at derelict bank

A man has been jailed after being caught tending to an enormous cannabis farm hidden inside a derelict former bank.

Saimir Gjoniku, 32, had been tending to some 359 cannabis plants with an estimated value of up to £452,000.

The sprawling farm was located inside a former Lloyds Bank on Bridge Street, in Newton-le-Willows, which had previously closed down in 2022 and been boarded up, the Liverpool ECHO reports .

Police were tipped off that the boards blocking up the abandoned building concealed the enormous grow inside, and on May 19 Gjoniku, of no fixed address, was caught and arrested at the scene.

Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here

In a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on August 18, prosecutor Derek Jones told