MATLOCK: No charges to be brought against ‘salt raid’ couple

In July the Mercury reported that officers raided Leon Hinton and Samantha Wood’s Smedley Street home.

The couple were asked for their mobile phones so police could take them away for analysis.

When they refused, officers said they faced being arrested as a bag of “white crystals” had been found in Samantha’s handbag.

At the time, Samantha said: “I could believe it. They were referring to a bag of salt.”

Samantha agreed to hand her phone to police. However, Leon refused and was arrested and ‘street bailed’ on the scene.

This week a police spokeswoman confirmed that “no further action taken” was being taken against Leon because the crystals discovered were “analysed and found not to be an illegal substance”.

Leon said he was “still waiting” for a police apology and didn’t hold out much hope of being refunded for the cost of a new door.

Derbyshire Dales Inspector, Richard Booth, said: “If we receive information from residents that they are concerned about a property in their community, we will grade and assess that information and then present it to magistrates when it is believed there is enough evidence to do so.

“They will then make the decision whether or not to grant us a warrant to enter that address based on the quality and quantity of the information.

“The community rightly expects us to act on any information they pass to us, whether that results in a warrant or further inquiries about an address.

“To police Derbyshire effectively, we rely on our communities to be our eyes and ears and we hope people feel confident enough to come forward and share any concerns they have with us.”