A SERIES of dawn raids by police saw nine people arrested on suspicion of violent offences last week.

"Operation Acorn" saw men and women from Kidderminster and Stourport taken in, following the blitz at about 7am on May 13.

It is the first time the new North Worcestershire Division has carried out a dawn raid.

The arrests at Stourport and Kidderminster took up the lion's share with only five other suspects detained, by police in Bromsgrove and Redditch.

Detective Insp Stacey Williamson, of West Mercia Police, said: "Operation Acorn is the culmination of several weeks of intelligence gathering and forensic examinations.

"By carrying out these operations we want to send a clear message to the victims that we are on their side - we will not tolerate this type of crime."