BURNLEY Police continued to raid homes in the Duke Bar area of town with nine people being arrested during early morning swoops yesterday.

A further five people were arrested later in the day and all the accused were taken to Burnley police station for questioning after an unknown quantity of Class A drugs was seized.

They were all expected to appear at Burnley Magistrate's Court today.

The raids were part of Lancashire Constabulary's county-wide Operation Nimrod and involved more than 80 officers.

Cells at the police station in Parker Lane were cleared for the day in anticipation of the arrests after an intelligence gathering operation that lasted several months.

Detective Inspector Mark Maxlow paid tribute the public who had given the operation their support.

He said : "I would like to thank the community in Duke Bar. It is clear the majority of people in that part of town are decent and upstanding and welcome this type of police activity on behalf of the public.

"Drugs activity is a priority for our police officers. We know there are links between drug dealing and other crimes. This is also going to be having an impact on other levels of crime."

And he also reiterated a warning to people dealing drugs in Burnley. "We want to make it very clear that if you deal in drugs, you will be caught," he said.

Earlier this year Pennine Police launched a dedicated phone-line for people who wanted to pass on information about people dealing drugs.

A police spokesman said information from the Drugsline had formed part of Operation Nimrod.

The Drugsline number is 0800 555 885 and is free and confidential.