WINCHESTER police have conducted an anti-drugs operation at a city centre pub, catching out four people.

Officers tested people wanting to go into Alfie's on The Broadway.

They used a rapid scan machine to test for traces of drugs and it was a condition of entry to the venue, which fully cooperated with the initiative.

In a Facebook post, the police said: "As well as having officers around the venue, we also increased our presence around the city centre night time economy venues, this allowed us to cover a larger area and also ensure we could prevent any issues before they escalated.

"As a result of the operation last night, 11 people were stopped and searched by our officers, with four of these being issued a community resolution for possession of drugs.

"This operation was conducted following increased concerns by venues around drug use at their premises. We'd like to thank Alfies for their co-operation."

The Chronicle contacted the pub but a member of staff declined to comment, referring the reporter to the head office of the pub owners, the City Pub Group, which has also been contacted for comment. No reply received.