Children as young as 12 were customers of a drug den, a council has said.

They were among the users seen queuing outside a terraced house in Newport, Middlesbrough which has now been shut down.

A sign found inside the house read “no weed, don’t knock” according to Middlesbrough Council who worked alongside Cleveland Police to shutter the operation.

The force had received more than 20 reports of blatant drug dealing at the house, on Selbourne Street, between June and November last year with visitors calling for cannabis and pills around the clock.

There were also complaints of dealers fighting in the street armed with bats and poles.

Officers seized cannabis in a raid in November and found the heroin substitute methadone in a separate operation last month.

Metal screens had been erected over the doors and windows.

Two people living there are subject to further police inquiries.

Andy Preston, Middlesbrough’s mayor, said: “This latest closure is sending them a clear message that they’re not welcome and will be removed from decent, law-abiding neighbourhoods.”