Children as young as 10 are feared to be using cannabis.

Brampton’s police community support officer revealed how efforts to engage with youngsters – and tackle a rise in anti-social behaviour – have led to reports of the young drug-takers.

In a report to parish councillors, police community support officer Gemma Dawson said she was aware of claims drugs were being dealt to children as young as 10.

But the force has stressed that it has yet to receive anything but anecdotal evidence.

David Moorat, chairman of Brampton parish council, said: “I’m really quiet astonished by the fact that children as young as 10, according to the PCSO, are involved with drugs. That really is quite shocking.

“Something certainly needs to be done. My first question is, what are the parents doing about it? Do they know where their children are in the evenings?”

Mr Moorat is a long-standing member of the council and said this was the first time drugs have been an issue with children.

“The only knowledge I have had in the past is with adults,” he added. “I’m really quite appalled that children as young as 10 should be involved in the drugs scene.

“It makes you wonder what kind of teenagers and adults they’re going to turn out to be.”

Katie Rickerby, Problem Solving Sergeant for Carlisle north and Brampton, told The Cumberland News : “It’s rumoured that a lot of the children are using cannabis: that’s what these children are telling Gemma.

“What [Gemma] is doing at the minute is trying to build on that intelligence picture to try and confirm or negate it.

“If it’s right we’ll be taking positive action against it but it’s not substantiated at the moment.”

She added: “Brampton is a really safe place to live.

“If we do hear rumours, like Gemma has, we will work to try and get some fact around it.”

The Brampton policing team’s current priority is a problem with anti-social behaviour around the community centre in Union Lane.

“That definitely is raising its

head,” said Sgt Rickerby. “We’ve got positive action taken against a couple of offenders at the minute.

“We’re working on that and it will be an ongoing thing.”

Those offenders are understood to be in their early teens. There have been eight reports of anti-social behaviour at the community centre since the start of the year.

Mr Moorat, who is part of a history group which meets there, said the youths are such a nuisance they have even forced meetings in the hall to come to a halt.

“There’s been a number of times when the speaker has had to stop because there have been children climbing on the roof, knocking on the windows and shouting,” he revealed. “Nothing seems to get done about it. You’d think for the community centre – instead of trying to chase these children and getting the police to get them off the premises – it would be an opportunity for the community centre to provide something in the evening for them.

“It’s a golden opportunity to get these children off the streets and doing some interesting things.”

Sgt Rickerby said officers and PCSOs are working closely with the community centre to address the problem.

Police said there has been no identified rise in anti-social behaviour year-on-year, but they are aware the behaviour of some youths is causing annoyance.