THE county’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has been getting a taste of how policing is done in East Lancashire by joining officers on a raid.

Conservative Andrew Snowden was elected on May 6 and last week pledged to double the size of the force’s rural crime task force and look at reopening front desk stations.

As part of his initiation into the new role, Mr Snowden joined officers in Burnley over the weekend as they executed a drug warrant on a property.

He saw first-hand the operation, which was aimed at disrupting criminal gangs and drug dealing.

As a result of the warrant, cannabis was seized from inside the house.

Talking to officers before the raid and seeing the work that goes into this type of activity, Mr Snowden discussed his priorities for policing and how he will support the Police, working closely with the Chief Constable, to be able to carry out more of this important work in cracking down on criminals.

Following the operation, Mr Snowden said: "It was fantastic to join officers on a drugs related raid in Burnley and see for myself the challenges that our officers face day in, day out whilst tackling crime to keep the overwhelming majority of law-abiding citizens that live and work in the county safe.

"Disrupting drug dealing networks is a crucial part of the work being done around the clock, to go after people that are responsible for blighting areas across Lancashire, contributing to anti-social behaviour and ruining people's lives.

"I am determined to work with the Chief Constable, Government and partners both locally and nationally to crack down on this and other issues that trouble our local communities, to get more police officers onto our streets and ultimately to reduce crime."

Andy Cartwright, Chief Inspector for Burnley and Rossendale agreed, saying: “It was a pleasure to host PCC Andrew Snowden in Burnley on Friday, where he got to see first-hand how dedicated our officers are to disrupting organised, and opportunistic crime in Burnley and Padiham. We are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and the supply of drugs across Lancashire and welcome the support from the Police and Crime Commissioner to do so.”