IT'S fair to say that our city's streets will never be completely free of drugs as long as there remains a demand from addicts and casual users.

So all police can do is work to stop drug dealing and drug use being violent, help addicts to escape their life of misery, and prevent the murky drugs world from impacting on the lives of people who want nothing to do with cocaine, heroin or any other illegal substance.

And that's exactly what police are doing in Worcester with Operation Blade, by shutting down County Lines dealers who try to bring Class A drugs into the city.

These dealers use violence and intimidation to force addicts to give over their homes so they can set up shop selling drugs, and they also use weapons in battles with rival supply gangs.

Our police are stopping them. With 124 arrests and £40,000 of cash seized, alongside many weapons – and violent crime said to be down around 25 per cent – the officers on the taskforce set up to stop County Lines dealing are making a real impact.

They are making our city safer.