Valleys struggle against drugs 'epidemic'

As Home Secretary David Blunkett visits the Cynon and Rhondda Valleys and pledges £1m over two years to tackle the drugs problem, many in the area are warning the problem is spiralling out of control.

Steve Holland from Porth, Rhondda, who lost his son Lee to a drugs overdose earlier this year, says the problem of addiction is out of control in the valleys.

"The problem is all too clear in the Rhondda - people are dying thick and fast," he said.

"It is an epidemic - every quarter of a mile there is a heroin dealer."

Coroner for Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys Phillip Walters said the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of inquests dealing with drug-related deaths.

He has estimated that since 1993, he has held inquests into 130 drug-related deaths in his area.

He said: "It has been like it is now for the past seven or eight years and there doesn't seem to be any abatement - at the moment there are deaths every week.

"It is not only the people who come to inquest - there are others who are dying of drug-related illnesses like multi-organ failure and hepatitis who don't come into the public domain."

"I can't say that there is a heroin dealer in every quarter of a mile, but locally in places like Aberdare, Merthyr and Rhondda, the public know who the small-time drug dealers are."

Crossroads

Mr Walters added that a lack of treatment facilities for addicts in the valleys meant that an ever-increasing number of drug deaths were coming before him.

"I find it disturbing when I have to conclude an inquest on people who are in the process of getting rehab and who slip," he said.

"That is one of the tragedies of what is happening."

Assistant Chief Constable of South Wales Police, David Francis, said the valleys had arrived at a "crossroads" where there was still a chance to turn the situation around.

He said: "It is not completely out of control but it is one of the most serious threats to our communities and I think we are coming to a crossroads.

"We've got a chance to turn it around and I hope we take that chance.

"The drugs problem is the biggest crisis that is facing our communities - people in these communities are being torn apart by what drugs are doing to their families and the crime that is related to it."