Police swoop on Skegness coast in special operation to drive out drugs

Operation California saw customers at bars in the area being drugs tested.

Drugs were found hidden in car heading to Skegness for "quite the party" during the return of a special multi-agency police operation.

Thousands of people headed to the coast for the Bank Holiday weekend - and the message was clear: 'Criminals will not be tolerated'.

Operation California was headed up by Police Neighbourhood Lead for the Lincs Coast area Insp Colin Haigh and saw the local police working alongside East Lindsey District Council, Royal Air Force dog handlers and British Transport Police to deter criminals bringing drugs to the coast.

On Friday, they searched 20 venues, some more than once, visited Skegness, Chapel St Leonards and Ingoldmells and interacted with hundreds of people.

After the driver of the car in which drugs were found provided a positive drugswipe for cannabis, Insp Haigh tweeted he thought the occupants "had quite the party planned for the weekend".

The operation was held with the co-operation of local bars who want customers to feel safe in their venues, including the Lumley and Churchills Wine and Sports Bar in Skegness.

Multi-agency operations like this have become a regular site along the coast since they were launched in 2017, when Insp Haigh was last in charge of the area.

When the Skegness Standard joined them, visitors at the bars told us they had no objection to being swabbed at the entrance of the venues for drugs and 'had never felt so safe'.

Dogs were used to help sniff out any drugs at bars along the coast.

Following Friday's operation, Insp Haigh told the Standard: "We recognise that this summer season is going to be really busy with hotels and caravan sites reporting record bookings.

"The police and our partners want to support the local economy by ensuring that coastal resorts continue to be safe places to live, work and visit.

"The message is clear, if you come to the coast with criminal intent, we will apply the law to its full extent."