Drinkers happily enjoying a pint of beer and a packet of pork scratchings in a Bushey pub last week had their Saturday night festivities interrupted by police officers brandishing drug testing kits.

More than 50 customers enjoying a night out at the Otter pub, in Bushey Mill Lane, had their hands tested for traces of drugs by officers from Bushey Neighbourhood Team.

The random tests were carried out by using a special swab wiped across the palm of the hand and then placed in a testing machine.

The machine tests for traces of almost 200 different types of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and ecstasy, and results are given within ten seconds.

If the test detects traces of drugs, it allows officers to carry out a search of the person to see if they are in possession of controlled substances.

And police have said they will continue to work with pubs in the area, as well as with the members of the Bushey Pubwatch scheme, to carry out future testing.

Of the 53 customers randomly tested, three proved to have had recent contact with illegal substances. Officers then searched the people with positive readings and no-one was found to be in possession of any illegal substances.