A PRESTON woman, whose daughter is addicted to heroin, has lent her support to The Big Issue's campaign to improve services for addicts.

The woman - identified only as Jane - stated her support to the campaign, after the magazine revealed shocking statistics to show just how the system is failing drug users.

Jane, married with two other children, said: "At last, someone has spoken out about the problems.

"This is the first sensible thing I've heard about a way forward when it comes to tackling drug abuse.

"When my daughter told me she was addicted, I was relieved. I know that sounds strange but at last I knew what was wrong with her and could do something about it.

"To my horror, I couldn't get help and, where it was possible, we faced a long wait. "To see your daughter walking out the door to get heroin which she so desperately wants to get off is just the most awful thing to go through.

"I was left with the soul-destroying prospect of seeing my daughter, my beautiful daughter, destroying her life.

"This campaign needs to succeed or else many others will face this nightmare."

The results of a survey carried out by The Big Issue revealed that a third of drug users were still in contact with drug services after five years - and a further 12 per cent were still in contact after 10.

Only a quarter of users said they received counselling and 40 per cent of those on prescribed methadone said they used heroin on a daily basis.

Anne McNamara, chair of The Big Issue in the North Trust, said: "Let's get this straight: we need more services, a diversity of services and more consultation with users. Drug treatment services need to stop being so defensive and get behind this."

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