Small children are being put at risk by teenagers dealing drugs and discarding drug packets in a playground, a parent has claimed.

A father-of-two has gone to the police after his toddler picked up an empty drug bag and licked it during one visit to the playground in Craneford Way, behind Richmond College.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said in recent months there had been an increase in teenagers taking and dealing illegal substances in the Twickenham playground.

He said: “It is spiralling out of control. I contacted the police and they said to call them when it is happening. But people are at work when it is going on.

“The problem is around the play area. There are tables and benches which have cannabis leaves drawn on them.

"I think it is coke, pills and cannabis [being taken]. Kids, including my 18-month-old daughter, are picking up the empty wrappers and licking them.

“It is really dangerous and all it takes is one kid to find something for it to be game over.”

He added lots of parents have stopped using the playground because they feel unsafe.

Your Local Guardian:

A selection of drug bags found in the playground.

Former Richmond College student Felix Jones, 19, said a bench close to the playground was known for drug dealing.

He said: “That was the dealer’s bench over there, just past the playground, and next to it is the smoker’s bench.

“Some people would bring weed in, but I never saw any cocaine – it was always just about weed.”

A spokesman for Richmond College said: “Although [the college] cannot confirm if the young people taking drugs in the Craneford Way playground are college students, we take allegations of antisocial behaviour very seriously.”

The college said it has in place a number of measures, including daily staff patrols, sharing intelligence with the police, a zero-tolerance policy on alcohol and drugs and inviting organisations into the college to raise awareness.

Another parent-of-two, who lives in Craneford Way, claimed they had seen young people exchanging bags and money in the park during the daytime.

They said: “I just think that the college should look into it more. I have seen police here, but not often enough.”

PC Jo-Anne Hood, from the St Margarets and North Twickenham safer neighbourhoods team, said if college students were found in the play area, they are “chucked out”.

She said: “We work there to deter it and we have numerous operations going on in that area to deter any drug taking.

“We have a good working relationship with the college and if we miss anything, we rely on residents to tell us.”

Do you use the children’s playground? Have you noticed any drugs or packaging discarded in the park? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6330 or email tom.ambrose@
london.newsquest.co.uk.