The Government's drugs czar Keith Hellawell has been criticised for not doing enough to keep youngsters away from hard drugs like heroin.

That was the warning from leading anti-drugs campaigners Paul and Jan Betts who have led a high profile campaign against the dangers of ecstasy, following the death of their teenage daughter Leah.

Their warning came in a reaction to comments made by Oxford-based drugs adviser Paul Skillen.

In a radio interview Mr Skillen said young potential drug users could have been scared off ecstasy because of the Betts' campaign, seeing it as the most dangerous drug available. An unintended outcome could have been them turning to heroin.

But Paul Betts, from Latchingdon, said it proved how successful their campaign against ecstasy had been. He said not enough was being done to target users of other drugs.

He claimed the Government-appointed drugs czar Keith Hellawell had done little to tackle drugs.

"For the past three years we have been telling young people the truth about all drugs and it has been proved how successful it has been by turning people away from ecstasy.

"But what have the Govenment and other agencies been doing regarding heroin and other drugs?

"The money has been poured into these agencies. We have had no sponsorship from them and what has happened is an embarrassment and smack in the face for the Government.

"We warned about the dangers of a heroin epidemic but no-one listened."

Mr Betts said the couple continued to give young people the facts about all drugs so they could make an informed choice.

Mr Skillen, who is the director of a drugs agency, said: "The point was raised at a conference that if you demonise one group of drug users, then young people turn to others thinking they are not so bad.

"This could have been the unintended outcome of the Betts campaign. What I am saying is not a criticism of the Betts but that we need to see the whole picture and there must be balanced information."

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