[420 Girl]

Britain's most fortified cannabis cafe has survived a barrage of raids by the police.

But now a bigger foe - town hall officialdom - could put paid to its plans to remain in business as one of the country's last Dutch-style "coffee houses".

Officers dressed in the latest high-tech body armour, battering rams and even a two ton tractor have tried and failed to shut the Fort Knox style building, a meeting place for like-minded supporters of pot smoking.

Police have raided the cafe six times but only small quantities of cannabis have been recovered.

Now the business faces the wrath of planning officers who say its razor wire and concrete-filled tyre walls break the rules.

Adur District Council says the fortifications at the property in Freshbrook Road, Lancing, do not have planning permission and claim it has undergone an unauthorised "change of use" from offices into a cafe.

The council has the power to order their removal and shut the business down.

But a spokesman for the cafe said: "It really doesn't bother us that much.

"They can try but I really don't think they'll get that far."

The spokesman admitted the razor wire is currently in breach of planning laws but said it could easily be moved to comply.

He also denied the tyre walls are in breach and said the issue over change of use of the building was "all down to interpretation of the wording".

The spokesman added: "We've had hundreds of police down here all trying to batter their way in and close us down.

"I don't think some bloke with a pen is going to get very far."

The spokesman said the cafe may not be around for too much longer, claiming the building's owner had lodged a planning application to build flats on the site instead.

Chief Inspector Lawrence Hobbs, Adur's police commander, believes people in Freshbrook Road do not want the cafe on their doorstep and has vowed to continue the raids.

But during the last raid on June 8, as on all occasions before, police have been thwarted by the time it has taken to gain entrance to the building.

A thick plume of black smoke has been seen coming from the building as officers battled their way in with disc cutters and battering rams.

Adur council said its plan to take enforcement action had nothing to do with use of the building as a cannabis cafe, saying it was an issue of "morality or criminality".

Rather it said was concerned the building is an "eyesore", describing the building's fortifications as "excessive, making it intimidatory, looking like a prison camp".

The council's planning committee will vote on enforcement action on June 30.

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