AROUND £150,000 of Government money has been earmarked to tackle Malvern Hills' drug problems and drug-related crime.

The money will be spread over three years and will be allocated by the district's Community Safety Partnership, with agreement from the police and the Drug Action Team.

Community safety officer Jenny Lawrence welcomed the initiative and said discussions would shortly be held about possible projects.

Among the things suggested is a mentoring scheme to help parents who are concerned about their children getting involved with drugs.

"It's if people have got concerns, what do they look for if they are looking for drug-taking within their own children? How do they look for it? Who should they go to? We want to provide some support for that," she said.

She said she would be interested in hearing from members of the community about possible initiatives and that drugs would be one of the topics a sample of 3,000 Malvern Hills residents would be asked about in a survey going out this summer.

She added that drug use effected the whole community as it often led to crime. Offences such as burglary, car crime, theft and shoplifting can often be linked to drug users.

A study published in 1998 by University College Worcester examined drug use among young people around the county.

It was commissioned by the country Drug Action Team and more than 8,000 young people were interviewed.

Class A drug use - substances like heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and LSD - were found to be prevalent in less affluent areas of the county but use of the Class B drug cannabis was more common in Malvern than anywhere else in the county outside Worcester.

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