DRUG dealers are selling heroin and cocaine from Bournemouth's hotels and B&Bs, a top police officer has said.

Speaking at a public meeting for residents of Springbourne and East Cliff on Thursday evening, East Bournemouth Neighbourhood Inspector Alan Setchell said organised crime gangs have turned to the town's visitor accommodation after police made the area "hostile" for dealers.

The officer also told residents that gangs are using a model known as 'county lines'. This refers to the use of a single telephone number for ordering drugs, operated from outside the area, which becomes the group’s brand. Unlike other criminal activities where telephone numbers are changed on a regular basis, these telephone numbers are maintained and protected.

"We've got organised crime gangs with county lines bringing class A drugs into Dorset," Insp Setchell said.

"A senior officer chairs weekly meetings [about drug dealing].

"That's how quickly these organised crime gangs can operate. They are changing their methods and locations."

He said driving out drug dealers is "complex" and involves a range of different police units, from neighbourhood policing teams to CID.

Offenders who come to Dorset to sell drugs are known to engage in 'cuckooing' by moving into the homes of vulnerable people and drug addicts.

In recent months, they have also found new locations to deal drugs from, Insp Setchell said.

"[Dealers] have now moved to B&Bs and hotels," he said.

Three men from London are due to appear before judges at Bournemouth Crown Court at the end of July and beginning of August charged with dealing crack cocaine and heroin from the Heathlands Hotel in Grove Road.

The men, who aged aged 20, 21 and 22, have not yet entered pleas to the allegations.

Insp Setchell said he is directing his officers to target "large-scale" deals - but residents say their lives are being affected by deals taking place in the streets and in Knyveton Gardens.

One of those who attended the meeting said dealing is "very visible to residents". Others reported calling officers and providing descriptions of people involved in deals, only for marked cars to drive past without stopping.

Insp Setchell said officers "have to prioritise" and won't be asked to "look for deals going on every minute of the day".

"I can't make any excuses for that. We can't deal with everything that's going on," he said.

"Think of a hive - I would rather find the hive."

However, he added: "I'm not saying it's not a problem. It's absolutely a problem.

"It's endemic. It's a national problem.

"For some degree of context, there are drug deals going on in the hamlets of Wimborne, in Dorchester, in Weymouth.

"Please don't think this is a Boscombe-centric issue."

In recent weeks, officers working with Bournemouth council officials have successfully applied for the three-month closure of an address being used by drug dealers, Insp Setchell said.

"We are making East Bournemouth hostile for drug dealers and organised crime gangs," he said.