Danny Dyer’s mum arrives home to blaze started by £30k weed farm in the loft
A man who arrived with the star's mum to the scene was later arrested
DANNY Dyer’s mum yelled “Oh my God, what’s happened?” as she arrived home to find a cannabis factory in her loft had set her house alight.
English teacher Christina Dyer was returning from her EastEnder son’s wedding when she saw firefighters tackling the blaze.
It had started in the loft, where a strong heat lamp used to grow cannabis is thought to have malfunctioned.
A man of 29 who was with Christina was held for alleged cultivation of the drug as cops took away some 120 plants worth up to £30,000.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: "A man aged 29 was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and was bailed to appear at a police station in late November."
Four engines with 21 firefighters were sent to 59-year-old Christina’s two-storey house in Canning Town, East London.
They spent 50 minutes putting out the fire, which damaged the roof.
One onlooker said: “We could smell something sickly sweet in the air.”
Another said: “We saw no flames, but an awful lot of smoke was coming through the roof. Christina came back around 2pm, dressed all in 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.”
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Another local said: “After he was arrested Christina was saying, ‘Where’s Bobby’? She was in a bit of a state.
“We see her all the time and have seen him coming and going occasionally. We think he’s a family friend.”
London Fire Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Hearn added: “This fire is believed to have been caused by a malfunction in a heat lamp being used for the cultivation of cannabis in a loft space.
“Firefighters can be exposed to risks when dealing with these types of fires because of the unsafe wiring used to obtain electricity and booby traps at some of the properties.
“It is important that people know the key signs and inform the police so that they can act swiftly to prevent these dangerous fires, which can also put neighbours at risk as well.”
Christina is thought to have earlier watched Danny — Albert Square’s Mick Carter — wed girlfriend Joanne Mas, mother of his three children.
The Cockney wide boy was joined by 150 guests including 27 Albert Square co-stars at luxurious Chewton Glen resort in the New Forest, Hampshire.
A woman from a few doors away said fire engines were first spotted outside the house on Saturday evening, when the Dyer wedding was in full swing.
Christina could face eviction from the terraced council house where she has lived for a decade.
A joint statement released by housing management company Pinnacle and Newham Borough Council said: "While we are unable to comment on any query surrounding the police investigation, Pinnacle PSG and Newham Borough Council will be conducting its own investigation to determine appropriate action in regards to the tenancy. We take criminal allegations very seriously and will evict anyone who is found guilty of committing such offences on our properties."
Christina, who describes herself as an English teacher in further education, is the only person listed on the electoral roll as living at the address, though Danny's sister Kayleigh, 30, was there from 2005 to 2010.
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