Children on bicycles are being used by cocaine dealers to peddle drugs on the streets.

The youngsters are being pushed into work by criminals in the Whitehawk area of Brighton, where police carried out one of a series of raids on suspected drug dens yesterday.

It is thought to be the first time city criminals have resorted to using children as drugs mules.

Police claimed the dealers were exploiting the youngsters as a cheap and easy way to deliver cocaine and other drugs to their customers.

Officers yesterday said they believed teenagers were carrying the substances away from a “stash house” based in a flat on the Whitehawk estate.

Residents at Linchmere in Lodsworth Close, off Swanborough Drive, told The Argus yesterday that youths on bikes regularly arrived at a flat in their block.

They claimed that the permanent stench of cannabis, all-night noise, vandalism and violence had made their lives a living hell.

Inspector Rob Leet said: "It shows the kind of people drug dealers are.

“Not only do they prey on the vulnerable in society to ply their trade, but they exploit the young in the neighbourhoods as well."

One 33-year-old neighbour said in the last two months the flat has become a hot-bed of anti-social activity and constantly smelled of cannabis.

He said residents in the block had complained about loud music and shouting as late as 5am.

Some, who own their own flats, have had to fork out for maintenance costs after people at the flat caused damage.

He said: "It has reached the point where we can't put up with it.

"There are people here with kids. They can't feel safe in their home.

"It has been a nightmare.”

Police did not make any arrests at the raid in Linchmere, Lodsworth Close, off Swanborough Drive, Whitehawk.

Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed work is under way to gather evidence to evict the tenants because of the behaviour at the flat.

Councillor Warren Morgan, who represents East Brighton on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Today's raids show that dealers will not be tolerated in the community, and is another example of how intelligence from members of the public is vital in fighting drug crime.”

Sussex Police’s local support team and neighbourhood policing officers carried out a total of six warrants in Brighton and Hove yesterday (Tues) aimed at disrupting the street-level drug supply chain in the city.

In Bolsover Road, Hove, a 51-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of selling cannabis after police received reports of dealing in pubs including the Whistlestop Inn in Station Road, Portslade. Officers also seized £950 in cash in the raid.

Later in the day police carried out searches of homes in London Road and Gerard Street, Brighton, and Lennox Road, Hove.

They found substances believed to be heroin and crack cocaine worth hundreds of pounds at the London Road flat.

A 57-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

The raids coincide with National Tackling Drugs Week, which is designed to promote education about drugs issues and enforcement of the law.

In a separate operation in Bluebird Close, Shoreham, yesterday afternoon, police found about 40 cannabis plants and pills thought to be ecstasy. One suspect was arrested.