A DALSTON street market blighted by drug dealing and prostitution is being cleaned up by police. Officers arrested 47 people during a four-week clampdown on anti-social behaviour in Kingsland Waste...

A DALSTON street market blighted by drug dealing and prostitution is being cleaned up by police.

Officers arrested 47 people during a four-week clampdown on anti-social behaviour in Kingsland Waste.

It is part of a year-long drive to transform the stretch of shops and market stalls on the east side of Kingsland Road between Forest Road and Middleton Road.

Residents have complained their lives have been blighted by drug dealers and prostitutes plying their trade.

Hackney police have claimed the initiative, Operation Side Parting, is reaping success.

"This is just the first phase of a year-long plan, which will see us tackle issues the community have told us are of greatest concern," said Insp Ade Adelekan.

"We are aiming to rid the area of anti-social activities such as drug dealing, prostitution and drug taking, which have blighted residents' lives."

The initiative is a partnership between Queensbridge, De Beauvoir and Dalston safer neighbourhood teams.

Officers carried out nightly patrols, analysed hours of CCTV footage and searched premises. A mobile police station was parked in the area during the fourth week of the operation.

Two illegal drinking dens were shut down by police and an unlicensed music event was closed.

Those arrested included people suspected of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, common assault and robbery.

Motor vehicle theft dropped by almost two-thirds and there were no burglaries.

Next month police officers will work with the probation service through the Community Payback scheme, making young people who have been involved in anti-social behaviour clean up graffiti in and around Kingsland Waste.

Chief Supt Steve Dann, Hackney police's borough commander, said: "The positive feedback we have received from residents and businesses in the area indicates that we have made a significant impact on their quality of life."

Cllr Alan Laing, Hackney Council's Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: "This is another strong message that we will not tolerate or ignore illegal and anti-social behaviour.