A COUNCILLOR who saw her son die from drugs has called for primary school children to be taught about drugs from the earliest possible age.

Coun Moira Barrett said: "If they're old enough to try a cigarette, they're old enough to have found a cannabis spliff."

She spoke for the first time about son Tommy, who died, aged 21, in October 1992 after taking a combination of cannabis, alcohol and mood tablets.

The Earcroft councillor - whose husband, Mike, died while he was the borough's mayor in May - is convinced better education could have saved Tommy.

Since then, she has worked with a variety of drugs groups, including Blackburn with Darwen's Drugs Action Team, to try and improve education for youngsters.

Her comments come as a Lancashire County Council report into drugs and alcohol support services has concluded more has to be done for under 13s.

National Curriculum guidance says youngsters should learn about the mis-use of drugs on health between the ages of 11 and 14. Between the ages of five and seven, they learn about the role of drugs as medicines, and between seven and 11 learn that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs can have harmful effects.

But Coun Barrett, who has eight children and looks after two grandchildren, said: "I don't think that is good enough. They need to know all the facts as early as possible, and also the dangers of mixing drink with prescribed, or other drugs. My son came home from a night out and had a few to drink.

"He went to sleep on the sofa and when I went to put a blanket over him, I saw he wasn't moving. When the ambulance got there, he had died.

"The inquest said there weren't enough drugs in him to have killed him or enough drink, but the combination could have killed him. He wouldn't have known that. Children need to know from the youngest age about the dangers."

Two years ago, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph reported how Class A drugs were being sold for as little as £5, putting them within reach of teenagers.

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Skills, said: "Research shows it is possible to influence young people away from drug use by talking about the issues long before they start experimenting."