A man was arrested on suspicion of peddling drugs as part of a major operation to crack down on neighbourhood criminals.

Police swooped on a 24-year-old man suspected of supplying cannabis in a dawn raid at an address in Chessington this morning.

The arrest was part Operation Hawk, targeting suspected drug dealers, antisocial behaviour, yobs and other criminals.

A spokesman for Kingston police said two men were also arrested in Kingston on the same day, on suspicion of fraud and possession of cannabis.

Further arrests were expected from seven warrants being executed later in the day.

Operation Hawk saw up to 4,000 safer neighbourhood officers and PCSOs, supported by specialist sections including the dogs unit and territorial support group, carrying out operations in one day of action across the capital. Inspector Dan Thorpe said: “The work we are doing today is focused on reassuring the people of Kingston that we are here to protect them.

“We are showing people that the intelligence they have provided through Operation Hawk will be acted upon.

“It’s a renewed emphasis on safer neighbourhoods teams making the most of local intelligence and acting on it.

“To help us do this, we need to encourage communities to talk to us and report concerns, but then we must reward this trust, by delivering swift results and telling people what action we have taken.” The police urged people to pass on intelligence about crime and disorder to the policing teams in their area.

Launching the operation, Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: “Operation Hawk is another way to tackle criminals decisively and directly.

“Communities are likely to see more operations of this kind from their safer neighbourhoods teams who, through their ongoing engagement, will continue to address local crime and safety concerns to help make London safer.”

Tom Barnes give his first hand account of this morning's raids...

It is not every day you get the chance to accompany Kingston’s finest law enforcement officers so when the opportunity arose to go along on with Chessington’s safer neighbourhood team on a series of dawn raids I leapt at the chance.

The shrill of the unforgiving alarm clock ripped me from the warmth of my duvet at 4.30am and at a time most people reasonable people are still tucked up in bed, I was sharing coffee and biscuits with Chessington safer neighbourhood Sergeant Wendy Parker and her team.

But before I had time to make a dent in the biscuits, we were in the car and on our way to the bust.

Minutes after getting out of the car two police officers armed with red metal police known as an enforcer, were smashing open the door, followed quickly by about seven colleagues.

I hung around outside - only police officers are allowed in the premises - with two safer neighbourhood officers on bikes waiting for the team to carry out their investigation.

Ten minutes later the team emerged empty handed.

But while the raid was unproductive on this occasion, the team are not swayed and head straight off to the next armed with intelligence from Operation Hawk.