A St Albans flat has been subject to a closure order after police proved the property was being used by people to deal drugs.

An address in Ellis House, Charrington Place, is now partially closed - meaning only the occupant can enter it - after St Albans magistrates granted an order on Thursday, January 30.

Before the order was issued, officers carried out a warrant at the address the week before. Powder, believed to be Class A drugs and drugs paraphernalia were seized.

Sergeant Mike Saunders from community safety unit, said: "We worked closely with Hightown Housing Association, which owns Ellis House, to apply for the closure order following complaints by residents about ongoing disruptive and anti-social behaviour.

"We were able to prove that the occupant had allowed his property to be involved in drug use and therefore the court, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, put the partial closure order on.

"This means that no-one is able to enter the property apart from the occupant, High Town Housing Association and the emergency services for three months. A breach of the order is a criminal offence under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014."

The news comes after a full closure order was placed on an address in Telford Court on January 9 and a partial closure order was placed on a property in Ladies Grove in September.

Sgt Saunders added: "We will continue to deal with ongoing anti-social problems and this is one of many options available to us. No-one should have to live near drugs or put up with anti-social behaviour."

If you are worried about drug use or dealing in your local area, you can report information online via herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in Herts police's force communications room via an online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101. If a crime is in progress or someone's life is in danger, call 999 immediately.

Alternatively, you can stay 100 per cent anonymous by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the independent charity untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

- You can tell the force what matters most to you about policing, crime or anti-social behaviour in Herts using echo via capture.rantandrave.com/s3/herts.