Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 5:07pm

'My house is no drugs den'

by Jonathan Kelly

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AN amputee mum-of-two who smokes cannabis to ease phantom pains is outraged that her home has been raided for class A drugs by police for the second time in two years.

Sarah Thomas, 40, was sitting in her living room having a cup of coffee when 12 police burst in to search her house for drugs.

Miss Thomas remained calm and allowed the police to look through her belongings and home - only to find the small amount of cannabis she smokes to ease phantom pains in her leg and to help her sleep.

Miss Thomas said: "The police think my house is some kind of drug den and it's not. It's really quite embarrassing. I felt like a real criminal and am just outraged. Haven't they got something better to be doing?"

Miss Thomas, of Ditchfield Lane, Finchampstead, was held by police for possession of cannabis resin following the morning raid on her home on Wednesday, June 25. She was kept at Loddon Valley Police Station for less than an hour before being formally cautioned and driven home.

She said: "I was never put in a cell, I got taken into custody and spoke to the sergeant who was very nice and he accepted that it was for medical purposes and I was cautioned and driven back home within an hour. I wasn't even formally arrested."

A police spokeswoman said: "It is illegal to possess the drugs that she was in possession of, and she is aware of the law because she has previously received a caution. It is just because the amount she had was classed as an amount for personal possession that she received a caution."

Miss Thomas, who shares her house with boyfriend John and daughters Samantha, 15 and Kayleigh, 17, had the lower part of her right leg amputated 10 years ago. Gangrene had set in after an unsuccessful triple bypass operation on a cyst in her leg.

She is adamant that she does not and has not used class A drugs and that the police are fully aware of this because they raided her house in September 2006 and tested her for hard drugs at that time.

She said: "The first time, I was searched, I was not put in a cell but again they were looking for class A drugs. I was tested for cocaine and opiates and both were negative.

"The problem was that they even searched my daughters and 13-year-old niece before letting them go to school.

"This time they didn't bother testing me again. I think as soon as they got inside my house this time they realised they had made a mistake."

Despite finding only a personal amount off cannabis, the police maintain that the operation, which included a raid on another house in Orbit Close, Wokingham, was a success.

Sgt Tim Woolford said: "The Operation has proved successful as controlled drugs were recovered and local police have received positive feedback from the wider community in support of action against those who commit crime or use or supply drugs."