A playground for toddlers in East Finchley has been hijacked by youths taking drugs.

Angry residents claim the facility, normally reserved for children using the Old Barn community centre, in Tarling Road, has in the past few weeks been targeted by teenagers as a hang-out, with youths even moving their own three-piece suite into the play area.

And over the past few days, more teens under the age of 16 have been congregating in the area to smoke drugs, say people living nearby.

Remains of foil, cigarettes and even an hookah - a pipe sometimes used for smoking cannabis - have been seen littered around the playground, as well as a sheet of paper featuring what one resident described as smiley faces', often associated with ecstasy tablets.

Although Safer Neighbourhood teams have written to parents of teenagers requesting that their children do not use the £30,000 play area as a place to hang out in and cause criminal damage, the message has gone unheeded as more rowdy youths have broken into the site since the notice was circulated.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "A few nights ago, five teenagers gathered there at 1am and stayed there for ages. They made a lot of noise and the following morning a hookah pipe was still on the sofa and the sheet with the smileys' is still there. Children using the playground could eat one of those smiley faces', which could be drugs.

"The whole place now stinks of urine and smoke and there's vandalism all around, including tags of N2 youngster$ camp', and a picture of a handgun. Who would want their little child to use that play area now, or even to live near that sort of behaviour?"