Homes boarded up in drugs fight

Magistrates have used new powers for the first time to order two houses to be boarded up to prevent them from being used as crack dens.

The magistrates in Reading, Berkshire, granted the closure notices following a request from Thames Valley Police under the Anti-social Behaviour Act.

The properties are in Ivydene Road and George Street off the Oxford Road.

A number of crack houses have already been closed down in the area as part of the ongoing Operation Eightfold.

The operation was launched to crack down on prostitution and drug-dealing that has been blighting residents lives in the area.