Sniffer dogs patrolled Tunbridge Wells town centre in a drugs crackdown.

On Friday night, the Tunbridge Wells neighbourhood policing team were joined by officers and their four-legged sidekicks from the Kent Police dog unit. The dogs are trained to sniff out illegal drugs and anyone suspects of possessing drugs will then be searched by officers.

Officers were also joined by two volunteer police officers from the force’s Special Constabulary, and a representative from the borough’s safer town partnership and Pub Watch scheme.

A total of 14 people were searched, and one man was issued with a penalty notice for disorder for possession of a small amount of cannabis, and will have to pay an £80 fine.

Sgt Ross Shearing said: “This operation was designed to help us quickly identify anyone in possession of drugs, and confiscate the substances. Tunbridge Wells is a really safe place to live and socialise and operations like this help keep it that way. However, if people do come to the town carrying drugs then they can expect to be spotted, and dealt with. The feedback from both members of the public and landlords at licensed premises was really positive, and we run operations such as this across the area regularly to discourage drug possession and use, and we will continue to do so to ensure that Kent remains a safe place to live and visit.”