THE affluent borough of Fylde has seen dozens of cannabis farms closed down – and heroin has been seized close to Lytham’s millionaires’ row.
In the second day of The Gazette’s special investigation into drugs seizures across the Fylde coast, we can reveal where police have been targeting in south Fylde over the last year.
Cannabis factories are the blight of the borough, with 51 seizures of plants – including a haul of eight from a house on Earlsway, Staining, which were found after a house fire in January – while there were 120 instances of the drug being seized.
And Class A drug heroin was taken from a 35-year-old man on upmarket Kintour Road, just off millionaires’ row Islay Road in Lytham.
The hotspots for drug seizures were central ward in St Annes – one of the borough’s most deprived areas – and the rural market town of Kirkham.
And Fylde’s youngest offenders were 15-year-old boys who were found with herbal cannabis during two separate seizures on Fleetwood Road, Wesham.
Coun Cheryl Little, Fylde Council’s cabinet member for health and social wellbeing, added: “Fylde is not drug ridden but it’s an unseen problem and people don’t want to admit it’s here.”
Two of the roads with the most seizures, St Andrews Road South and Park Road, are in central ward and ward councillor Sue Fazackerley said: “People are conscious there’s a drugs issue in central ward – it’s a concern of residents and it is brought up at PACT meetings, although there seemed to be more concern a while ago when you could see drug dealers in St Annes Square. It makes people feel uneasy because of the related crimes.
“Fylde is a very old-fashioned area and there’s not a lot of tolerance towards drugs, and I don’t think there should be.”
Between September 2011 and August 2012 there were a total of 20 drugs seizures in Kirkham.
In August, 48-year-old Declan Wallace, from the town, was one of two people who died after injecting heroin contaminated with anthrax.
The Health Protection Agency has warned there are likely to be other infections from the contaminated batch, while police were on the hunt for the person responsible for supplying the deadly drug.
Kirkham Coun Liz Oades, said: “I think it’s a small number of individuals.
“All towns have a problem with drugs and Kirkham is no exception, but from information given to me over the years I think it’s a small minority of people.”
TOP FIVE STREETS WHERE DRUGS WERE FOUND IN FYLDE
Park Road, St Annes - six seizures
St Andrews Road South, St Annes - five seizures
Poulton Street, Kirkham - three seizures
Westby Street, Lytham - three seizures
Station Road, Kirkham - three seizures
CATEGORIES OF DRUGS FOUND IN FYLDE
Cannabis - 120 seizures
Cocaine - nine seizures
Heroin - five seizures
Amphetamine - four seizures
Other (including diazepam and methadone) - 22 seizures
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