A charge nurse has vowed to kick drug and alcohol abuse out of a Sutton Hospital mental health ward which watchdogs have labelled as a place of worsening substance misuse.

Michael Faulkner, who joined Jasper Ward in the Cotswold Road hospital's Chiltern Wing last month, has already called in prison sniffer dogs and police in a bid to restore public confidence in the facility and make it a drug-free zone.

His belief is the combination of illicit drugs or alcohol abuse and the heavy medication taken by many patients on the ward is potentially deadly.

Merton and Sutton Community Health Council (CHC) issued a report last October following a ward visit, which said: "The problem of drug/alcohol abuse and bringing in of illicit drugs is worsening."

Mr Faulkner, who is currently studying for a Masters' degree in mental health law, said he caught one patient smoking a joint in his first week at the ward and called in police.

The following week, with the backing of South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust, which runs the ward, he invited Wandsworth prison officers, armed with two sniffer dogs, to search Jasper Ward.

He said they found evidence of cannabis use in three parts of the ward, but he suspected dealers were coming into the ward, possibly with harder substances.

The 45 year old said: "I'm planning to do this every one or two months the next time, it will be unannounced."

Mr Faulkner said mental health patients represented easy targets for dealers, who had easy access to the open ward. But he added: "Drug abuse makes patients' prognoses worse. It's counterproductive for people on very powerful medication."

The trust's chief nurse, Bernadette Hennigan, said it had used Wandsworth prison before to tackle drug problems.

The CHC has visited the ward subsequently but is yet to report on its findings.

Sutton Police said they did not believe drug misuse in Jasper Ward was a major problem, but they would be taking a closer look at the issue.

A council spokesman said: "The matter will be raised at the Drug Action Team meeting on June 20, which will be attended by representatives of all statutory agencies."