POLICE are to begin carrying out drug and weapon searches at a troubled Leyton park at least once a week.

The Guardian reported last week that Coronation Gardens, off the High Road, has become a hotspot for drug dealing and violence.

Residents of nearby Lyttelton Road said their street was often cordoned off by police and some said they feared for their own safety.

And the Leyton Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) has now confirmed it will be carrying out the checks using sniffer dogs on a regular basis, in addition to high visibility patrols.

Officers also carry out regular “stop and search” operations at the park during afternoons and evenings and disperse gangs of youths who congregate there.

The Territorial Support Group, mounted police and officers from the London-wide anti-knife crime initiative Operation Blunt have carried out patrols in and around the park.

Work has also been done by the Police Youth Engagement Team and the Active Change Foundation, which works for social cohesion, to prevent anti-social behaviour and crime.

And police have been sharing evidence with the council's anti-social behaviour team in order to help secure applications for ASBOs.

PC Shane Gurney, of the Leyton SNT, said: “The Leyton Safer Neighbourhood Team have been working very hard to make the park a safe place for the local community and all who visit it.

“We will continue to work with the local authority and our other partners to make sure that this is achieved.”

In June this year, a 20-year-old man was found in the park, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

And in July, police were called after a mass brawl broke out in the High Road, just outside the park, in which five teenagers were injured.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following the fight and has been bailed to return in September.