A LOADED semi-automatic pistol and ammunition have been seized by police during a drugs raid.

The weapon was found under the floorboards of a house in Dawdon, County Durham, as part of Operation Grasshopper - which has led to the arrest of a total of 35 people for alleged drugs related offences.

Easington crime manager Detective Chief Inspector Brian Tait said: "In my time here, which is over a year, it is the first firearm we have recovered."

A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the unlawful possession of a firearm, and is on police bail until next month.

Along with the pistol, police also recovered property, including a car bonnet, windscreen and parcel shelf in the month-long operation, which ended on Sunday.

As part of the operation, police executed 18 warrants at homes across east Durham, and seized more than £1,200 in cash.

A total of 35 people - 28 men and seven women - were arrested, mostly for alleged drugs-related offences.

Among the drugs seized were 84 cannabis plants, nearly half a kilogram of cannabis resin and 193 Ecstasy tablets.

The operation followed the recent recovery by police of large quantities of drugs in the area.

In January, officers netted County Durham's biggest haul of Ecstasy, a total of 40,000 tablets, after stopping a car on the A19.

Days later, they found hundreds of mature cannabis plants being cultivated in a factory unit at Cold Hesledon, near Murton.

Det Chief Insp Tait denied that the drugs problem in east Durham was escalating, with dealers moving into the area following a police clampdown on Teesside.

He said: "Easington district is one of the more socially deprived areas of the country, and that might have some impact, but it is not the case that drugs on the streets are rife."