Thirteen people were arrested last Saturday night in a huge police operation to tackle weekend crime in Romford town centre.

A so-called ‘search city’ was set up for the evening where officers worked with Havering CCTV operators to spot potential anti-social bevaviour.

Traffic officers also ran an ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) operation around the Romford ring road.

More than 40 stop and searches took place during the evening and 12 arrests were made for offences ranging from possession of drugs to disorderly behaviour and affray.

Another eight people received official warnings for possession of cannabis.

The road op saw 47 cars stopped, six of which were seized for having no insurance, one person was arrested on a warrant and one was given a cannabis warning.

Detective Superintendent Tony Bennett said “Havering Police is committed to working with our partners to ensure that Havering remains a fun and safe place to visit.

“This operation complements the considerable work already undertaken by local police and partners in ensuring that those who visit Havering are aware that we will not tolerate unacceptable and anti-social behaviour.

“Crime within our town centre has reduced considerably over the last 12 months and operations such as this allow us to show our community that we remain committed to reducing crime and the fear of crime.”

Cllr Geoff Starns, Havering Council’s cabinet member for community safety - who observed the evening - said: “Romford has received a number of awards this year for the way that we, the police, licensees and businesses work together to make it a safe and pleasant place to have a fun night out. However, we are not complacent and this operation sends a hard hitting message that we will continue to deal with anti-social behaviour and crime in our own town”