Police with sniffer dogs have searched Denbigh High School as part of a drive to clamp down on drugs use in the town.

Parents were sent a letter confirming the police visit, with acting headteacher Dr Paul Evans stressing that no drugs were found.

It comes as North Wales Police’s Conwy and Denbigh Rural unit report a “pre-planned operation targetting the supply of controlled drugs to persons within Denbigh town centre.

The unit also reported that “There is work still to be done in the near future with regards to the problem which cannot be disclosed at this stage however local residents should be aware that we will listen and endeavour to take positive action to make Denbigh a safer place.”

The letter, sent home to parents that day, read: “Here at Denbigh High School we consider the welfare and safety of our pupils to be of utmost importance.

“You may be aware that there have been issues in the wider community, outside of school, concerning the use of prohibited drugs among pupils of school age.”

The letter continued: “This morning the police visited school and, using dogs trained to detect banned substances, they underook a search within school. The aim of such a search was to protect the welfare of our students and followed the same process carried out in other Denbighshire high schools.

One parent said: “It’s a massive concern because as a parent as you believe school is meant to be a safe environment for our children.

“It is reassuring that the school and police are dealing with it and the searches by the drugs dogs should hopefully deter them in the future as activity like that is making us consider moving our child to a different school.”

Acting Headteacher Dr Paul Evans sought to reassure parents and pupils, stressing that nothing of interest was found during the visit.

“We were approached by PCSOs that there is a concern within the community that there is an increase in young people being involved in illegal drug use, and you have pupils from the town attending a number of secondary schools

“My priority as a Headteacher is to make sure school is a safe place and I wanted to work with the authorities as an exercise.

“It coincided with the company that train the dogs looking for a venue. The dogs were in the last stages of their training.

“Each dog is trained for a substance, and we were asked to co-operate as a training exercise, and I was pleased with the outcome, which is that there is no problem in Denbigh High School.

“At the end of the day, all children are in the community. The school can’t control what goes on there but they can ensure that school is a safe place, as safe an environment as posible so they can get a good education.

“A safe environment is of paramount importance.”