by Chris Allen

An elderly couple's Bristol home was raided by the drugs squad because a common garden plant smelled like cannabis.

The pensioners' neighbours were also burgled by a masked gang looking to steal the "weed" they suspected was being grown in their loft.

The culprit was a plant which grows small pink flowers in spring known as moss phlox or phlox subulata.

Ivor Wiltshire, 77, and wife Margaret, 79, bought their plants at a garden centre for just £2. They planted it in the front and back garden of their home in Courtney Road, Kingswood, four years ago.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that it started to give off a smell similar to the pungent aroma of a cannabis factory.

That led to the police helicopter regularly hovering above their home using infrared cameras to search for the tell-tale heat source normally associated with the growing of cannabis.

The drugs squad, together with sniffer dogs, smashed their way into their home while they were away on holiday. But they found no trace of a cannabis factory, nor any hint of illegal activity.

But the smell from the innocuous plant had already aroused suspicions in the neighbourhood.

David Difford, 54, who lives in the adjoining semi, previously had to fend off a masked gang who thought the smell was coming from a cannabis factory in his loft.

They demanded he handed over "the weed", but could find no trace of the illegal drug when they searched the house.

Mr Wiltshire, who has now pulled up the moss phlox and thrown it away, said: "There was a smell, but whether it was like cannabis or not is beyond me.

"We are bewildered as to how a small plant could cause so much trouble and cause the police to smash their way into our home.

"After it had happened I felt like digging up my whole garden – I was that distressed. I just want to move house now to get away from it all."

Mrs Wiltshire added: "The ironic thing is that we had told our local policeman that we'd be on holiday because there had been a spate of break-ins in the area and wanted him to keep an eye on the place.

"We came back from two weeks in Madeira to find we'd been raided – all because of a tiny plant.

"It was only afterwards that a police officer discovered that the smell was coming from the garden. You'd have thought they'd have checked that first."

The couple, who have lived in the house for 40 years, have lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Speaking about the night his home was burgled, Mr Difford, 54, said: "They were wearing Halloween masks and kicked in the front door late one night.

"I tried to hold them back but all they could say to me was: 'Give us the weed, man'.

"They searched the entire house for more than 20 minutes and were very keen to look in the loft, which baffled me at the time.

"They left, taking the TV and a few other items with them."

The mystery deepened further last night when the Bristol Evening Post approached a Bristol garden centre to explain the smell.

A spokesman at Riverside Garden Centre, in Southville, said: "I've never known phlox to give off a smell before – certainly not one that could be confused for cannabis. They are known as decorative plants and valued for their flowers, not their scent."

Police said they were investigating a complaint made by Mr and Mrs Wiltshire.

Superintendent Peter Kelk, head of professional standards, said: "Mr and Mrs Wiltshire have received a formal apology from District Commander Andy Francis."