DRUGS FEATURE: SWINDON Town stadium manager Ron Topp, whose son died from heroin, has endorsed the Drugs Hotline.

Ron's son Paul died at the age of 29 after experimenting with heroin.

Ron and his wife Lyn found their son's body on the living room floor of their family home when they returned from a short holiday.

Ron, 56, believes his son died after taking heroin for the first time.

Paul's death still haunts the Topps, who have had difficulty rebuilding their lives since. Paul's bedroom has been left untouched since his death. The last CD he listened to, by R'n'B artist R Kelly, is still in his stereo, and all his belongings are where he left them.

Ron will never forget the moment he found his son's body.

He said: "My wife thought he was drunk, but I just knew straight away that he was dead. Our Yorkshire terrier Jerry was resting against his face, trying to keep him warm.

"When Paul died, something died in us. We will never get over it, and we will never be the same.

"Heroin tears families apart.

"Sometimes my wife will sit and listen over and over again to the CD Paul left in his stereo. Our lives have completely changed."

At the inquest, Wiltshire coroner David Masters said Paul's death proved that there is no safe dose of heroin.

Since Paul's death, in March 2001, Ron has become interested in the whole issue of drug abuse.

What still puzzles Ron and Lyn, who have three other children, is why their son would get involved with heroin in the first place.

Ron said: "Paul was just so sensible and full of life. He was always laughing and joking, had a good job and had everything going for him.

"My wife sometimes lies in bed crying, asking why he did it, and I just can't answer."

Ron backs the Swindon Drugs Hotline initiative. "If it saves one person, it will be worth it," he said.

He is currently fighting a battle against addicts who inject drugs near the County Ground.

He is planning to clear an area of undergrowth between the stadium and the neighbouring sports field, which is regularly used as a place to inject. "The addicts hide among the bushes, and we're always finding syringes there," he said. "We don't want these people near the ground."