The little market town in Cornwall 'ruined' by crack cocaine and feral 12-year-olds

The tiny Cornish town of Callington has become riddled with drugs and crime, with the police working to bust the area's most prolific dealers. Teenagers are reportedly hooked on crack cocaine and the smell of cannabis is so common it has been dubbed Callington Cologne by residents.

Local drug dealer Tom told the Sun: "A friend was using crack cocaine, and I tried some. I'd never done it before, but I was hooked.

"This is not what I want for my life, but I'm addicted so I keep doing it. I know it could be laced with anything, like fentanyl, but when I do it, I don't think about anything else; I just want to get high", he said.

The town of 6,000 people is the home of the famous Ginsters pasties, and was once considered a relatively low-crime, safe haven. But in the last two years alone, Callington's crime rate has doubled in the past two years.

In July, three members a Callington drug ring were found to leading a "significant criminal enterprise". The family-run scheme involved laundering just under £1million for a drug dealer, using a photocopy and printer cartridge business as a front.

Steven Izzard, 35, was sentenced to three years behind bars, while his wife Georgina Izzard, 33, and father Nicholas Izzard, 68, were given two year-suspended sentences. Police raids in 2022 uncovered class A and B drugs with a street value of £20,000.

Not only that but the cops found weapons and a large amount of money.

Another Callington resident told the Sun that ketamine is a "growing trend" among local pushers.

"Crack cocaine is the widest used drug here. It's not because of a lack of jobs, but the sheer addiction of it," the source said.

"Weed is seen as a 'boring' drug, and it's easy money for the dealers. Ketamine is a growing trend here, but I think that goes for the rest of the country. The police arrested some county lines dealers, but they are still here, still shifting drugs to dealers in our town, but obviously being more cautious", they added.

Even the local teengers are running amok. Local businesswoman Zoe Love, 31, said vandalism is rife.

The nail bar owner said: "These kids are aged between 12-15 and vandalise things in the town and the park. I have had to put a fire out at the park before which was lit by a bunch of kids trying to make smores with an aerosol can.

"There's nothing for them to do here. There's a youth club, which is great, but it's open once a week. When they leave there, they think 'what do we do now?'"

The Express has contacted the town council for comment.