FIVE pubs in a Hyndburn town have been raided and 12 people arrested in a crackdown on drug dealers.

The execution of warrants on licensed premises in Accrington came as a forcewide initiative to reduce street crime was expanded and drug dealers were told they had nowhere to hide.

The raid-a-day Safer Streets in Lancashire initiative to crack down on class A drugs trafficking offences will now include the execution of warrants on pubs on a regular basis in East Lancashire.

Inspector Phil Cottam of Accrington Police today revealed that five pubs in the town centre had already been raided. This action had resulted in the arrest of 12 people suspected of possessing and supplying class A and class B drugs.

There had also been two raids in Blackburn town centre pubs which resulted in three arrests.

No charges have yet been brought as the substances seized have been sent for forensic examination and police have refused to reveal which pubs were involved.

Inspector Cottam said: "Drug dealers need to know that they will not be tolerated.

"If they are going to pubs to deal, thinking that we will not go there, they are mistaken.

"We are clamping down on them and if they think using a pub is a way of avoiding that, I can assure them it will not work. "

In total there have been 12 warrants executed on private addresses in the Accrington police force area and 28 arrests for possession and supplying of class A and class B drugs.

The Safer Streets initiativealso targets the offences of robbery, car jacking, snatch theft and possession of firearms.