Cannabis dens found in two Shropshire villages

Evidence of drug taking has been found on land in St Martins and Gobowen, used as meeting places for local youths.

Community support officers are urging parents to challenge their children on where they are spending their days and evenings during the summer holidays.

They are also reminding young people that a police warning over the use of cannabis could scupper their university or job applications ruining their futures.

In St Martins youths are congregating on wasteland behind the St Martins Institute, known as the Stute, while the Black Bridge in Gobowen - a pedestrian walkway over the railway line - is also being used by young people, Community Support Officer, David Hughes said.

He said the Black Bridge had been a problem spot for some years.

"It has a history of youths drinking alcohol there but this is a worrying escalation," he said.

"Evidence of cannabis taking has been found in both places and, in Gobowen, we have been told that youths are walking on the bridge parapet which is extremely dangerous."

The officers are stepping up patrols in the villages and say the actions of the young people are not fair on residents living locally.

"If the young people themselves realised that even a police warning can have a bearing on their future and could be taken into account by universities and employers," he said.

"We also would ask parents to ask themselves, where are their children and what are they doing."