FIVE police officers had to be taken to hospital after being showered with drugs during a raid on a flat.

The powder was thrown around the flat on Whitby’s Skinner Street as a police strike team entered at about 9.30am on Saturday.

And as the team dealt with the suspect they were exposed to the unidentified powder - believed to be a Class-A drug - through inhalation and ingestion.

One officer was violently sick and four others also showed signs of being unwell with raised heartbeats and light-headedness.

All five officers were admitted to the accident and emergency ward at Whitby Hospital where they received treatment.

All have since been discharged from the hospital and have been given leave from duty to allow them to fully recover.

The North Yorkshire force’s Acting Assistant Chief Constable Steve Read visited the officers in hospital and praised their courage.

And he said the incident highlighted the real dangers faced by officers who were on the front-line in the fight against crime.

"In a week where a number of stories have shown the police service nationally in an adverse light, it is important that the people of the North Yorkshire policing area should be aware of the everyday courage and professionalism exhibited by the police officers who serve and protect them," he said.

"The officers in this case were appropriately trained, briefed and equipped to undertake this operation.

"But due to the often unforeseeable nature of the tasks that police officers undertake, they were exposed to danger in an entirely unpredictable way."

He added: "Thankfully the officers responded well to the treatment they received at Whitby Hospital. I am very grateful to the medical staff and I would like to pass on my sincere thanks for their assistance in what could have been a much more serious situation."

A 25-year-ld man was arrested in confection with the incident. He was later released on police bail pending further inquiries.