REVELLERS snorting cocaine in a Swindon pub's toilets could find themselves getting a nasty shock.

Rather than getting high, they are more likely to end up with nothing more than a nasty nosebleed caused by inhaling the household product WD40.

Publicans are being urged to spray the lubricant on surfaces around toilets and washbasins in a bid to reverse escalating usage of the drug.

Landlord Carl Brown, who heads the town centre PubWatch group, has been forced to start using it at his own pub, the Mailcoach in Fleet Street.

"I spray it on all the flat surfaces," he said.

"If they snort coke off it, they get a nose bleed.

"When I first did it, there was blood everywhere, and I could see people leaving the bar with a bloody nose.

"Word has now got around, and they don't do it.

"But I would recommend other landlords do the same thing."

Carl has also removed the lids from his loos, but desperate users are prepared to snort directly off the seat rim.

Plummeting prices mean cocaine has become the drug of choice for many. Once a rich man's perk, it can be bought in Swindon for as little as £40 a gram, compared to £55 a few years ago.

This means an average line will set the user back by around £2.50 less than a glass of wine in many bars.

Carl says it is causing an unpleasant, aggressive atmosphere.

"It means you get quite vicious arguments when people say they have been short changed, or sold duff drugs," he said.

"It also makes people more violent when mixed with alcohol.

"It's just bad for society.

"And if people know drug users frequent your pub, it puts them off.

"One you get rid of them the decent law-abiding customers will come back."

Swindon police said they did not want to comment on the idea.

Tamash Lal