DRUGS are easier to get in Banbury than pizzas, according to town MP Tony Baldry.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Mr Baldry said Banbury had become a hot-spot for drug dealing.

He raised concerns that towns alongside the M40, such as Banbury, were vulnerable to the growing drugs trade in Birmingham.

Mr Baldry said that Oxford drugs charity Smart had shown that addicts in Banbury could text for drugs and get them delivered faster than a pizza.

He said the loss of the Thames Valley Police drugs squad meant north Oxfordshire was a prime target for drug dealers.

Area police commander Supt Paul Emmings agreed that smaller towns such as Banbury and Bicester might be seen as targets for drug dealers, but he said that the police were cracking down on drug crime and had launched campaigns to prevent drug dealing.

Mr Baldry was speaking at the House of Commons in a debate on drugs in prisons.

He said Bullingdon prison needed to work with organisations like Smart to develop a mentor scheme for released prisoners who were vulnerable to drugs - and that the police needed support to tackle drug suppliers.

Mr Baldry said: "Banbury is a soft target for drug dealers who drive down the M40. The Smart team told me that in Banbury, because of mobile phones and text services, it was easier to order drugs than a pizza. They were not being alarmist, just matter-of-fact.

"I find these facts extremely frightening. I hope we can ensure that police drug squads are used to deal with this issue, and that the police have the resources to target people who see the supply of drugs as a business. Drug dealers are truly evil."

Mr Baldry said the problem faced by the prison service was the reoffending rates.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "The Crime and Drugs Investigation Unit's name was changed to the Organised Crime Group in 2006. The drugs squad was not disbanded, just amalgamated. None of the work it carried out stopped."

Supt Emmings said: "Smaller towns such as Banbury and Bicester may be seen as a target for drug dealers, but we are, and will continue to be, robust in cracking down on anyone who deals drugs across Cherwell.

"We have carried out many drugs searches across the district and will act on whatever intelligence is provided to us.

"We have also run operations, such as using drugs dogs in pubs and clubs, which is a great deterrent and I hope demonstrates that we will not tolerate anyone supplying drugs."

Supt Emmings said the police had recently launched Operation Falcon, which linked forces with Oxfordshire Nightsafe partnerships to combat drug dealers operating in pubs and clubs.

Police drugs co-ordinator Det Con Leigh Thompson said: "Drug dealing in Oxfordshire pubs and clubs is not rife, but it does happen and we want to work with licensees to make sure their businesses are not blighted by it.

"Operation Falcon is here to stay and we will be carrying out further similar initiatives."