A FORMER senior police officer says sniffer dogs should be used to find drugs in teenagers' rooms.

Under new proposals, parents concerned about their children would be able to let the animals into their homes.

The dogs and their handlers would be made available through schools and colleges.

Former Durham Police superintendent and crime specialist Lord Mackenzie will submit the plans to the Government.

He said: "This is specifically designed for parents who are anxious their children could be using drugs.

"Allowing the dogs into their homes would provide them either with reassurance, or the evidence they need to prove their children are using."

Rather than using police resources, the dogs would be brought into homes by private dog handlers.

As president of the Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Moor played a pivotal role in the creation of Government policy on anti-social behaviour.

Specialist substance worker Tony Pendlebury, who works with drug addicts in Washington, Wearside, believes the scheme could work.

He said: "Prevention is always better than cure, so it is an interesting idea.

"But I would hate parents to become paranoid that their children could be taking drugs.

"The best way is for them to talk to their children."

Drugs dogs have already successfully sniffed out teenagers using cannabis at schools in Sunderland.

A 15-year-old pupil was caught with the drug during police operations in the city's 18 secondary schools.

Lord Mackenzie said: "Allowing these dogs into homes would be at the discretion of parents, but it would be a very good way of reassuring them.

"I will be submitting this policy to Number 10 once all the details have been put in place."