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Shameless gangs are taking advantage of rock bottom house prices in a UK seaside village by snapping up cheap and turning them into cannabis farms. Horden, in County Durham, has an average house price of just £52,000 - well below the national average of £268,319 - with two-bedroom terraced properties listed on Zoopla for as little as just £9,000.

It is constantly named one of the cheapest 'towns' in the UK but fed-up locals want to see more done to stop criminals using the houses to grow and deal drugs. One man was jailed for over three years in April after he was found hiding in a cannabis farm at a disused shop in Blackhills Road. Durham Constabulary said he would only confess to being the farmer but evidence proved he was more involved.

Two years ago, feuding rival gang members clashed in Horden's Fifth Street where a stolen Transit van smashed into shop fronts and shots were fired before a high-speed chase through the village. Seven men were jailed for a combined 94 years after pleading guilty at Newcastle Crown Court. The "weekend of terror" shocked locals in Horden and nearby Hartlepool where gangsters rammed into a house and torched a car.

Defiant locals have said they've had enough and want their village back but it's a struggle. Horden itself lies along County Durham's beautiful coastline, but the village has suffered since Horden Colliery closed in 1987. Jobs and opportunities are scarce, but families are clinging on as best they can.

Home to about 7,000 people, Horden has been "left behind" and "ignored", according to Norman Bayles. When the Express visited on a late spring day this week, the village's high street was almost empty, shops were shuttered and several houses were boarded up. There are signs of a once-thriving community - a butcher's, banks, a habidashery and clothes shop - but their premises lie empty, ghostly reminders of what used to be.

Mr Bayles, 67, said it is the empty houses and disused shops which have been drawing the criminals in. He told the Express: "People come from London. They rent or buy because houses are cheap here, then set up cannabis farms."

He added: "There was a shoot out outside the community centre between rival gangs. There was shooting in the street. It was like The O.K. Corral...

"I've lived here all my life. You used to be able to leave your doors open. It's all changed now. It's an absolute nightmare. Where's the work? If you want to work, you've got to go out of the area."

Shopkeeper Levent Aydinc, 58, said the village is getting "worse and worse". He told the Express: "There are so many drug addicts. Bad people are coming in. I don't think the police do enough. The majority of people are not happy here.

"Rent is cheap here so it attracts ne'er-do-wells. These people see an empty house or shop. It's scary, especially for those who live next door."

It's not just locals in Horden reporting a surge in cannabis farms. Residents in nearby Peterlee and Stanley told the Express they too have seen gangs move into empty premises in their towns.

Chief Inspector Barry Evans, from Durham Constabulary, said a recent operation in Peterlee saw officers seize more than 400 plants, leading to the arrest of a man who was charged and remanded in custody until his court hearing.

He added: "Cannabis is linked to sexual exploitation, kidnap, serious violence, firearms, money laundering and illegal immigration, which is why we are committed to cracking down on cannabis farms right across County Durham.

"Officers are working at speed and warrants are being executed regularly to tackle those who are involved in drugs supply, but they need assistance from the public to help destroy the networks one by one."

He urged locals to continue to report suspicions to the police on 101 or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.