Danny Dyer’s mum came home from from her EastEnders son’s wedding to find a cannabis factory had set her house ablaze.
Neighbours said English teacher Christina Dyer had yelled, “Oh my God, what’s happened?”, as she discovered the fire, which had started in the loft after a heat lamp used to grow the plant malfunctioned.
Four fire engines and 21 firefighters were called to the terrace in Canning Town and managed to bring the fire under control after 40 minutes of fighting it, leaving part of the roof damaged.
A 29-year-old man who was with Christina, has been held for alleged cultivation after police removed 120 plants, with an estimated value of £30,000.
Witnesses told The Sun: “We could smell something sickly sweet in the air. We saw no flames, but an awful lot of smoke was coming through the roof.
“Christina came back around 2pm, dressed in all black. A scruffy guy in his 20s in a hoodie and cut-down shorts was with her.
“She ran round the corner shouting, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened? The snakes, the snakes’. I don’t know if she keeps reptiles or was referring to someone’s actions.
“She went inside as the police recovered the plants. I counted 120, all about 3ft tall and sticking out the top of brown paper bags. Then the guy was handcuffed and taken away.”
Christina could face eviction from the terraced council house where she has lived for a decade.