THOUSANDS of pounds worth of drugs and an imitation handgun have been seized in a raid on an Old Town crack house.

Two men have also been arrested on suspicion of dealing in the operation that was the culmination of months of hard work.

Police say it will put a massive dent in dealing in the town.

Sergeant Scott Hargreave said the message to dealers is that they will be hit hard and firm if they set up shop in Swindon.

Eight officers wearing body armour and helmets raided the flat in Old Town last night.

As well as uncovering what is believed to be more than £6,000 of heroin and crack cocaine police also found what they suspect is a haul of stolen property including a flat screen plasma TV, mobile phones and a car stereo.

The flat itself was in stark contrast to the image of a rundown drugs den.

On the outside the smart-looking apartment seemed like the home of a young professional.

And on the inside the tidy, well-furnished rooms gave no clues that it could be a major outlet for drugs.

But scattered across the kitchen table next to a set of electronic scales were bags containing crack cocaine and heroin and the front door was heavily fortified to bar unwelcome guests.

Hidden in one of the drawers was an 8mm blank firing Glock handgun.

As the police burst in one man in the house made a dash to the toilet.

Flushing drugs away to get rid of the evidence is a common tactic dealers employ.

Sgt Hargeave and his team were pleased with the night's work.

He said: "We won't accept drug dealing and we won't allow it in this town. This will have a big impact on dealing here.

"The gun fires blanks but it has the appearance of a real gun.

"This sends out the message that we are not going to mess about.

"We are going to tackle them hard and firm if they continue dealing in Swindon."

Police had spent 11 months gathering information about the address.

Sgt Hargreave said: "We need to emphasise that we are so reliant on the information coming from the community and it helps us to improve their quality of life."

The two men arrested were being questioned at Gablecross police station this morning .

Anyone with information about drug dealing is encouraged to call Swindon police on 0845 408 7000; Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111; or the Action Together hotline on 0845 605 2222.