SHAUN Hartley has been clean for five months and one day and is starting a college course to become a counsellor.

Five months and two days ago, he was at rock bottom.

Reporter IAN SINGLETON found out why he is now looking forward with hope...

IT seemed harmless fun when Shaun Hartley first experimented with cannabis at 17, fresh from leaving Witton Park High School.

Yet months after that first spliff, he was sacked from his job stacking shelves at Tesco's Hill Street store in Blackburn after getting stoned at work.

His addiction grew and he moved on to amphetamines. For 14 years he injected whizz into his arms on a daily basis, sometimes not sleeping for 20 days on end as a result.

He became a 'small-time' drug dealer, selling enough to fund his own addiction.

Now he is 34 and half-a-life spent abusing his body has inevitably taken its toil.

Shaun suffers from depression, his kidneys are ruined and his nervous system irreparably damaged, leaving him prone to panic attacks.

Drugs was not the glamorous, trendy existence it appeared when he was a teenager.

This May he conceded he needed help quickly before the addiction led to death.

Shaun sought sanctuary at the Salvation Army Hostel in Heaton Street, Blackburn, and enrolled on the rehabilitation programme from the THOMAS project.

They helped transform him.

Symbolic of his rebirth is his physique.

While his liver and nervous system will never recover, he no longer has an emaciated frame.

He goes to the gym twice a week and has built up his weight from nine stone to 11 stone 5 ounces -- the correct size for his 5ft 8in frame.

Shaun now wants to get his first proper job for 10 years. He dreams of being a drugs counsellor, and he will be if he can progress through a course starting at Blackburn College in September.

He hopes to eventually do good by passing on his experiences to sway 17 year-olds from following the downward spiral that led him to rock bottom.

The hostel has 54 beds (all usually occupied) in several landings. Residents are given counselling, advice to help them re-claim their lives and responsibilities -- Shaun is currently in charge of his landing, which means he must ensure cleaning duties are carried out.

He is even the vice-chairman of the Salvation Army hostel's angling club.

Residents are also encouraged to think about future employment and take courses, which is how Shaun enrolled on the British Association of Counsellors' approved course.

Soon, he hopes to progress to the hostel's resettlement project. This has 52 flats with cooking facilities so the resident can begin to be more independent.

Once the staff feel the person is ready to move out of the Salvation Army's care, they help find them a home through a housing agency.

But despite the benefits the programme has had for Shaun, Nigel Brummitt, principle project worker at the Salvation Army hostel in Blackburn is frank about its success.

He said: "We have had our fall outs, but he has always been 'straight-down-the-middle' about his problems and that is to his eternal credit.

"I have seen a massive transformation in him over these four months."

"But, we must be honest about this: they are not all like Shaun, we lose people as well. That is a fact of life.

"We lose more people, frankly, than we have successes with.

"All we can do is fulfil our objectives."

Shaun believes an addict has to be 100 per cent committed to conquering their drug problem.

He should know. He has had two relapses in the past.

At 24 he moved to Newcastle for a year to escape his bad influences. However, on his return to Blackburn, he quickly undid his good work.

Then four years ago he sought help for the first time from the Salvation Army hostel, but he left and returned to drugs.

Shaun, who has a son he never sees because of his previous lifestyle, said: "I went worse after that last relapse. I used amphetamines for three-and-a-half years constantly.

"To be honest it was 'stuff the world' and I didn't give a damn what I was doing to my body.

"I would do a half an ounce of powder a day. I sometimes would not sleep for up to 20 days.

"It was all getting on top of me and I was arguing with my girlfriend."

They split the day Shaun checked into the Salvation Army. He also enrolled on the nationally renowned drugs THOMAS rehabilitation programme, run by Father Jim McCartney in France Street.

Shaun was given a mentor and expert advice on overcoming addictions.

Despite the past relapses, he insists this time is different.

Shaun said: "I am not even thinking about relapsing. My last injection of whizz put me on a downer and I thought 'This is the time to stop.'

"There may be times when I think 'I'll have to go and score'. But all I can then think is that I would be set back so much.

"I don't think about drugs anymore. I see people in town I used to use with and I say 'I'm still clean'.

"They are happy for me, but I think if 'If I can do it, why can't you?'."