THE calm of a Colchester residential street was shattered yesterday as a convoy of police vehicles roared into the road to carry out a drug bust.About 15 officers were involved in the raid, which took place at a house in South Street in the South Town area at about 11.

Elliot Furniss

THE calm of a Colchester residential street was shattered yesterday as a convoy of police vehicles roared into the road to carry out a drug bust.

About 15 officers were involved in the raid, which took place at a house in South Street in the South Town area at about 11.30am.

A 55-year-old man was arrested and charged on suspicion of intent to supply a controlled substance and 32 wraps of Class A drugs - believed to be heroin and crack cocaine - were discovered as well as a small amount of cannabis resin.

Colchester-based officers wearing body armour and helmets were joined by plain-clothed officers and a drug dog handler were all involved in the operation as a warrant was executed at the address.

The operation - code name Gust - stemmed from information received by nearby residents and also involved representatives from Colchester Borough Homes, which rents out the property.

The organisation's Rebecca Johnstone said the evidence collected would be used to back up an eviction process on the man.

She said: “The community have had to tolerate a lot of anti-social behaviour and they have worked with us to collect the evidence needed to get to today.”

The operation was run by Sergeant Katie Mead and also involved Pc Alan Wilson and Sergeant Steve Scott-Haynes, who covers the area where the raid took place.

Officers used a rammit to break down the front door and used the drug sniffer dog to search the property while officers kept the man inside before taking him to Clacton Police Station where he was held in custody.

After the arrest, Sgt Scott-Haynes said it was a “satisfactory result” and should be seen as clear evidence that the police would respond to feedback from the community.

He said: “It is a satisfactory result as much for the arrest as for the community impact and is part of an ongoing operation.

“Neighbourhood policing is all about acting on intelligence from the community. It may take some time but we will look into it and do something about it.”

The RSPCA was also called to look after animals found at the flat including a small cat and a number of birds.