DRUG use in the Swindon area is rocketing, according to a Department of Health report.

In the last five years, the number of drug addicts in the South West has doubled, with the annual rate of new cases rising from 1.4 per 1,000 people in 1996 to 3.1 in 2001.

And the study also reveals that more than half of the estimated 48,000 drug users in the South West region are heroin addicts.

In Swindon there are an estimated 2,000 heroin users and the number appears to be growing more rapidly than in surrounding areas.

The town has become an easy target for drug pushers because of its position on the M4 corridor, which is used to bring heroin to the West, and the growing prosperity of the town.

The rate of hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver, has also risen in line with the spiralling drug problem.

Only 23 cases were reported in the region in 1992, rising to 929 cases within eight years. The report claims that a quarter of injecting drug users in the South West are infected with hepatitis C which increases the risk for those who share needles.

Young people have also been caught up in the cycle of drug abuse with a five-fold increase in the number of under-16s who abuse drugs.

Glenys Armstrong, project manager for the Swindon Druglink support group, said the figures were a cause of concern.

"It is certainly the case that drug misuse seems to be on the increase in the town.

"And the worrying thing is that youngsters seem to be experimenting with drugs much earlier."

She explained that the increased availability of drugs on the streets had pushed the price down to the "pocket-money" range.

"The message that we are keen to promote is that drug users should get in contact with us in the first instance and we can provide confidential advice to help people turn their lives around. The trouble is that so many of the users are so entrenched in the lifestyle that they don't seek help."

Responding to the report, regional director of public health, Dr Gabriel Scally, said: "It is important that the information from this report is used to plan future prevention and rehabilitation services. We need to continue to strengthen reporting systems and find ways to engage with people before they become long-term users."

The report was published by the South West Public Health Observatory, the University of the West of England and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust.