Police have boarded up a crack house and evicted the tenant after finding hard drugs worth £1,200 at the property.

Officers drove nails into the front door of the flat in Whitehawk Way, Brighton, yesterday, within days of the police raids.

Magistrates gave permission for the house to be shut down for three months before Brighton and Hove City Council can re-let it.

It is only the third time anti-social behaviour legislation, introduced in 2003, has been used to close down a crack house.

Neighbours of the property, who have been plagued with noise and disturbances since Rebecca Thomas moved there in November, spoke of their jubilation over the police action.

One said: "We've had to put up with loud music, car doors slamming and callers night and day. And the whole area has stunk of cannabis.

"We've even seen a woman openly smoking dope outside the address.

"It has been absolute hell here for the past few months and it has been a shame because Whitehawk has improved dramatically in the past five years. What the police have done is fantastic and we're delighted."

Thomas was allowed to collect her belongings yesterday afternoon and may be re-housed by social services.

Five men have been arrested and released on police bail while drugs taken from the property are analysed.

John Mitchell, community safety team leader for the eb4U community regeneration organisation, said: "This is a powerful message for the community and a powerful message for dealers."

Police first raided the address in January after complaints from neighbours and seized heroin worth £1,000 and 19 wraps of crack cocaine worth £200.

They returned on Monday to serve a closure notice and banned five men from the Whitehawk area.

Sergeant Tony Lumb, community officer in Whitehawk, said: "Each time the action has been welcomed by neighbours who have had to put up with a great deal of nuisance.

"We want to make it as awkward and difficult as possible for drug dealers who come to Brighton to carry on business."