Two knives and a host of drug paraphernalia were recovered after a search of Islington’s parks to help with drug enforcement and mapping.

Islington Gazette: The knives discovered.The knives discovered. (Image: Archant)

The items were found after routine searches last Thursday were carried out by Parkguard, a private accredited company which help police with drug and weapon sweeps in the borough, along with trusty sniffer dog Toppa.

The discoveries were made across parks in the Islington area and have led to the detection and disruption of a number of drug users.

A mixture of needles, crack pipes and Class A and B drug paraphernalia were discovered along with the two blades with the assistance of Toppa and his precise nose.

Paul Convery, Islington Council’s executive member for community safety, said: “The knives that have been discovered look like they have been used before. One is a very large blade and the other one, even though it is very small, it is still very, very dangerous.

“Obviously these discoveries are very worrying but it is also great to know that they are being unearthed before any of the public gets hurt. This is one of the great things about Parkguard, they compliment the work of the police very well and they are very reliable.

“It is examples like this which is why we have Parkguard in mind as the additional uniformed presence as part of the late night levy to help patrol the streets at night with the police.”

Parkguard provides a wide range of community safeguarding services, primarily on behalf of Local Authorities and Police, and use specially trained dogs on operations such as this. They regularly conduct routine searches of Islington’s parkland and green spaces to help the police with their patrols, often finding drugs and weaponry.

Although unlinked, these discoveries follow the huge drug raids carried out by police to crack down on the drug trade across Finsbury on Tuesday last week.