A community champion returned to his flat to discover it was being converted into a cannabis farm.
Vulnerable Peter Mearns had been staying with a friend while the pair shielded during the pandemic.
But as they were protecting themselves from Covid-19 crooks broke into his home, changed the locks and cleared the way for a drugs farm.
Registered disabled, Peter had been shielding from coronavirus due to his severe COPD.
With his friend also in an at-risk category the pair took the decision to live together in case one needed the other’s support.
This meant Peter was away from his Birkenhead home through December and the first weeks of 2021.
When he returned to Kingsland Road on January 18 the painter and decorator discovered the locks had been changed, leading him to contact Merseyside Police.
Officers were alongside the 56-year-old when a locksmith gained access to the home.
Inside, they found a property that had been cleared and enough equipment to cultivate cannabis that could be sold for tens of thousands of pounds.
Peter said: “I was shocked. I looked at the locksmith and police officers and thought ‘what is going on here?’
“My head was wrecked.”
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Possessions were strewn around the flat - and outside, while high-powered lights and plant food were found within the address.
Peter said a computer and tools had been taken, much of it linked to the project he set up to help unemployed people.
That scheme, Color My World, was launched to help find work for painters and decorators and give workplace skills to those in need of experience.
It was supported by The Big Lottery Fund.
Describing the impact of the break-in, Peter said: “It was really devious and upsetting, I was shocked and surprised and I felt violated."
He added the experience had left him "feeling somewhat volatile" and "not wanting to return to my long-term home" - though he praised the housing association Riverside for its support in the aftermath of the incident.
A spokesman for Merseyside Police said that while no offences were initially identified: "We can confirm that officers have been investigating a suspected burglary in Oxton, Wirral.
"On Monday, January 18 police were called to a property on Kingsland Road to reports from the owner that the locks had been changed.
"Upon later gaining access, the owner found various items of equipment."
Those items were removed, the force said.
*Anyone with information can contact the force by calling 101 or via Twitter (@MerPolCC) with the crime reference 21000036893. You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111
