A PIONEERING drugs course which last month attracted interest from just one Swindon church group is now full thanks to the Evening Advertiser.

Churches and Christian organisations in the town came under fire in September after more than 100 failed to register any interest in the event, run by the Churches Council for Industry and Social Respon-sibility.

Organiser Norman Coffey said there was no excuse for the lack of response in a town with 1,200 heroin users and growing drug-related crime.

But church leaders reacted with fury to suggestions they did not care about Swindon's drugs problems. Many said they had not heard about the course, which is being run with the Old Town-based charities Druglink and the Alcohol Advisory Centre, and pledged to send representatives along.

Now the Swindon session, which takes place at the Pilgrim Centre on Friday, has 17 booked places two more than the limit and a further five church groups on a waiting list for a later course.

Mr Coffey believes the turn around is due to the Evening Advertiser's coverage.

"We now have a full list in Swindon and the beginning of another course, which is wonderful.

"A real mixed bag of church groups have come forward from across the town," he said.

"I think the Evening Advertiser reached parts of the free church which we didn't and it woke some people up.

"Perhaps it just encouraged a few people to do what otherwise they might not have thought of doing.

"The great thing is that it raised the profile of the ISR in Swindon to the extent that our director has now written to all the parishes in Swindon to say that now they have probably heard of us through the Evening Advertiser, we would like to come along and tell them more about what we do.

"Hopefully we will be able to make a real difference with this course and help those people in need in Swindon."

The course, which is also being run in other towns in the south-west, will teach church representatives about illegal substances.

It is hoped that by June next year every parish in Swindon will have at least one person knowledgeable enough in the problems of drug abuse to be able to direct people in need to sources of help.

It is also hoped that other courses on issues such as domestic violence a particular problem in Swindon can take place in the future.

Anyone wanting to register interest in the courses can contact Mr Coffey on 01249 740254.