RESIDENTS of Rooksdown have been reacting after a woman was forced out of her house yesterday

An 18-year old man from Luton was arrested after police received reports that two men tried to force their way into a property in Park Prewett Road on Sunday morning.

One person described how he saw the police "screaming and shouting" and wasn't sure what was happening.

Another said that the building looked a "mess" and was out of keeping with the others on that road.

She said that she'd often seen "unsavoury characters" around the building.

A third told a Gazette reporter said she couldn't believe what was happening to the town.

Meanwhile, plenty of residents registered their suspicions on Facebook that it was drug related.

Craig Norman said: "So many cross-county crimes happening in Basingstoke lately."

Neil Chadwick added: "Smells of County Lines."

A third, Melanie Day, commented: "We only had this last week and again, stop bringing it to Basingstoke."

An official Police spokesperson said that they were called to reports of a woman had threats made against her at 9.55am.

Neighbourhood Inspector Richard Lane said: "We are aware that people in the area may have seen police activity around that time.

"We would like to assure the public that we believe this to be a targeted and isolated incident.

"We are continuing to investigate and follow up lines of enquiry but it anyone has any information about this incident or any suspicious activity, they can call 101, quoting reference 44190320012."

Meanwhile, Rooksdown ward councillor, Cllr Simon Bound said he believed the incident was to do with an ongoing police investigation relating to drug use in the Basingstoke area.

Cllr Bound said: “I believe it is part of an undercover drug operation that the police have been conducting for some weeks following local intelligence.

“I continue to encourage residents to report any suspicious activity that the police can use to inform current and future investigations.”