SIX men have been arrested following a series of raids by police in Stockton.

Thirty officers were involved in the raids at addresses in the town centre on Wednesday night and yesterday morning.

The arrests were made as part of a purge on drug dealers in the area, dubbed Operation Baildon.

On Wednesday, two men were arrested and charged with supplying heroin and crack cocaine.

Lee Peter Griffiths, 33, of St John's Close, Stockton, was remanded in custody at Teesside Magistrates Court yesterday.

The second man, Andrew Simon Mylan, 31, of Elm House, Bath Lane, Stockton, was granted bail and ordered to re-appear before magistrates at a later date.

Another four men - one aged 54, two aged 26 and one aged 31 - were arrested yesterday on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A controlled drugs.

A police spokesman said they were expected to be charged overnight and to appear in court today.

Since Operation Baildon was launched in July, 11 men and four women have been charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, heroin and crack cocaine with a street value of £1,440 and £860, respectively, has been recovered, and £6,000 in cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.