SHUFFLING along a scruffy pavement lined by dilapidated buildings, a lone dealer emerges from a drug den where addicts shoot up after cooking heroin flogged by kids in £10 bags.
Meanwhile, less than 100 yards away, workers are building Britain’s next generation 167ft Royal Navy nuclear Trident submarines at BAE Systems’ £31bn shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.
David NelsonAuthorities in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria are working to help tackle the town’s drug issues[/caption]
David NelsonChris Gibson is a former addict who says heroin is still a huge problem in the town[/caption]
Eight people were jailed at Preston Crown Court in July for their role in a county lines plot which involved children delivering Class A drugsCumbria Police
Three nuclear-armed ballistic missile HMS Dreadnought submarines are being constructed there – but while locals take pride in its shipbuilding prowess, the Cumbrian town close to the Lake District is increasingly plagued by its reputation for poverty and drugs.
It was dubbed “Britain’s most infamous brown town” after an influx of heroin caused a high number of overdose deaths, with 12 in one three-month period alone.
County lines drugs gangs smuggle in heroin and crack cocaine from Manchester and Liverpool, often using children to deliver the goods.
A recent police crackdown has seen a large number of drug dens closed down as cops and local residents fight back against the trade, but Class A substances continue to blight the area.
When The Sun visited as part of its Hooked series, which reveals the drug epidemics in towns up and down the nation, former heroin addict Chris Gibson, 46, told us: “The crackdown has helped but heroin is still a big problem here.
“It has got a bit better, but ketamine is now just as much of a problem. You see youngsters coming with all sort of bladder and health problems now. It’s very sad.”
Wandering near the homes built for shipyard workers on Barrow Island, one heroin user told how he injects heroin up to five times a day to feed his habit.
The shuffling man in his 30s, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I take whatever I can get. I smoked it first and now I shoot up. I started when I was 18.”
Dad-of-one Chris, 46, kicked his habit with the help of drug rehab and is now a drug recovery worker.
Recalling the height of his addiction, he said: “It was a living nightmare. I started taking drugs in the 90s during the rave scene.
David NelsonDrug users enter dilapidated buildings to snort and inject substances[/caption]
David NelsonThe town is known for its £31billion nuclear submarine shipyard[/caption]
David NelsonResidents have said drug addicts can easily get their hands on illegal substances[/caption]
“When other people went home, I wanted more so I got into other things.
“I started smoking heroin and it spiralled after that. Eventually I went on to inject it. It became my world and my life fell apart – with my family and everything.
“It was a living nightmare in the end. It was hellish.”
There is a lot of poverty and deprivation here so people can be easy targets
Chris Gibson
Speaking near the centre of town, he added: “Barrow still has a big problem with heroin.
“There is a lot of poverty and deprivation here so people can be easy targets. But addiction is in the mind.
“You have to try and break the cycle. Things are getting better but there’s a long way to go.”
Deep-rooted
Another resident, unemployed Mike Brownhill, 28, said: “Someone I went to school with died of a heroin overdose. It can get hold of people and they lose everything.
“I did it for a few years but then got help when my partner fell pregnant. It was tough but I made it through.
“It’s very easy to get drugs here. I was one of the lucky ones to make it away from drugs. Many aren’t so lucky.”
While a number of drug dens near the town centre have now been shut down, many are thought to have moved to different locations.
Drug problems have deep roots in the isolated town.
It’s very easy to get drugs here. I was one of the lucky ones to make it away from drugs. Many aren’t so lucky
Mike Brownhill, local resident
In 2018 Barrow, which has a population of 67,000, had the ninth-highest rate of deaths from opiates in England and Wales – more than double the national average.
Two years later, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said 17 people died of drugs-related deaths in the town.
The ONS said it was 12 the next year, while there were 15 deaths reported in 2022.
A few years ago the shipbuilding hub was labelled the “drugs capital of the north”, where people were more likely to die from drugs than those in nearby Manchester, Liverpool or Lancaster.
However Cumbria Police has launched several initiatives against the heroin trade.
Barrow is classed as one of the most deprived in England by the Office of National StatisticsNNP
David NelsonDespite being on the edge of the Lake District, few tourists make it as far as Barrow[/caption]
Eight people were jailed at Preston Crown Court in July for their role in a county lines plot which involved children delivering Class A drugs.
They were caged for a total of 50 years for the drugs operation that ran heroin and cocaine from Manchester to Barrow.
Cops said the ‘Shakka’ line, run from a cell in South Yorkshire, flooded Barrow with drugs through a county lines network with a ‘home delivery service’.
It was estimated the county line supplied drugs with a street value estimated at more than £110,000 in Barrow over a four-month period between September 2022 and January 2023.
A spokesperson from Cumbria Police said: “Our officers work all-year-round to protect Cumbria against serious and organised crime.
“Drug dealing is a blight on the county and significantly contributes to immense suffering to some of the most vulnerable people in society. However, Cumbria Constabulary is committed to rooting it out.
“We continue to be proactive, using local intelligence to conduct misuse of drugs act warrants and stop searches as part of our ongoing efforts to target and disrupt drug supply within our communities.”
GETTING HELP:
If you think that you have a drug addiction then please contact your GP.
You can also visit FRANK for honest information about drugs and to find local treatment services.
If you are having trouble finding the right help, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 03001236600
Or click here to visit the NHS website for more advice and support
Barrow – the hometown of England lioness Georgia Stanway, Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers and ex-Liverpool captain Emlyn Hughes – is classed as one of the most deprived in England by the Office of National Statistics.
Barrow Borough Council was one of the first local authorities to declare a poverty emergency in September 2020 after the devastating impact of Covid and the cost of living crisis.
Recent government figures found one in 10 adults are unemployed, a quarter have no qualifications and a fifth of kids live in poverty.
All that remains of Barrow’s once bustling shipping industry is BAE Systems.
Despite being on the edge of the Lake District, few tourists make it as far as Barrow.
But not all the locals are so despondent.
Speaking near the centre of town, hotel porter Geoff Pike, 64, said: “It’s a great place to live despite having had a few problems.
“You are by the Irish Sea and the beach.
“I think the kids get into drugs as they are just bored. But every place has its problems, not just Barrow.”
Takeaway worker Ilyas Cosar, 54, added: “It’s quiet here now. There are many people who work at the shipyard. I like it here now. There is not really any trouble.”
David NelsonA takeaway worker said although it’s now quiet in the town centre, there are still ongoing problems[/caption]
David NelsonLocal Resident Geoff Pike believes kids get hooked on drugs when they are bored[/caption]
David NelsonBarrow-in-Furness has seen a sharp rise in drug use[/caption]
David NelsonDespite the town’s issues, Geoff still believes it’s a ‘great place to live’[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
