On Thursday, February 14, police joined bailiffs at the raid after the mortgage company went to seize possession of the building.

After bailiffs spent two hours outside the heavily reinforced building knocking on the door to take possession after the owner had defaulted on the mortgage payments, police got a search warrant and began knocking out the frame of the steel-reinforced front door, which is surrounded by stacks of tyres concreted into the ground.

They then smashed three glass windows which were covered in razor wire before people inside opened the door and let them in.

As officers started searching four people inside and looking for drugs, it emerged that a last minute payment had been received by the mortgage company from the owner, which it had accepted. Possession of the building is now back with the owner.

Last Wednesday afternoon, police raided the Freshbrook Road café, taking 15 minutes to gain entry. Two people who had earlier been arrested for possession of cannabis after leaving the building later received cautions.

These followed three previous raids on the building, including one in July last year when officers smashed their way into the cafe using a battering ram on the door and an angle grinder to cut a hole through the reinforced brick wall.

During the second raid in October, a tractor was used to pull out a window.