GOBSMACKED pensioners watched their kitchen flood after a secret cannabis farm set up next door was trashed.

The 64-year-old woman rushed next door after water began pouring through the wall of their home in Harcourt Avenue, Southend before discovering what had been taking place.

She said: “It was early afternoon on Sunday, when we noticed some of our plugs were sparking and saw water was coming through the wall.

“My husband went outside first to see if he could figure out what it was and then went next door and that’s when he saw water pouring down the walls and through the ceiling.

“We knocked but no one answered so we went round the back and noticed the back door was open.

“We went in and saw the entire house had been trashed. The kitchen sinks, toilets and shower were all smashed and water was blasting out.

“We rang 999 and police and fire came pretty quickly.”

The woman said that is when police discovered hydroponic equipment - used for the cultivation of cannabis - in three rooms of the house which was all confiscated by officers.

The woman, who has lived there for nine years, said: “My house is owned and this was going on right next door because the letting agent had rented it out to god-knows-who.

“They obviously had something going on and someone has got angry and decided to completely trash the place.

“We tried to speak to the Hopson’s owner when he visited the following day but he just turned his back on us.

“I think the landlord lives abroad which is why he gets Hopson’s to deal with it.

“We saved our house from further damage by acting quickly but we have had no recompense in any way for the damage to our kitchen.”

The discovery is just the latest incident which has made the couple rethink living in the area after almost a decade. The woman added: “It’s just getting nasty round here now so we are looking to move somewhere else. We were going to have someone round to value the house this week but we have had to cancel that because the kitchen walls are completely wrecked.

“I have no idea how much it is going to cost to fix.” Essex Police and Hopson’s did not provide comments before the paper went to press.