POLICE officers carried out a series of dawn raids yesterday morning.

The officers, from Darlington, targeted a number of addresses in the North Road area of the town.

They were following up leads from the public, including information supplied on the national Crimestoppers phone line, which they had combined with their own intelligence work.

Last night, a spokesman said that a quantity of drugs was recovered from the houses, including hundreds of Ecstasy tablets, cannabis resin and heroin.

Four people were arrested in relation to the drugs haul, and another man, who police had been looking for in connection with an alleged assault, was also arrested.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Reddick said: "A lot of information has come in from the public that has helped us carry out these raids.

"Officers in Darlington have been busy recently with big operations, but we want people to know we are still looking at information they give us and we are cracking down on local criminals."