LEGALISING cocaine and taking it out of the hands of ‘kitchen table dealers’ will help to cut a growing number of deaths across the North East, according to campaigners.

Low prices, purer forms and the ease with which people can get their hands on the Class A drug have contributed to a significant rise in cocaine related deaths in the region.

Once viewed as the province of wealthy drug users, coke is now widely available and cheaper than ever, according to Teesside man Kieran Appleby, who managed to free himself from its powerful grip.

And according to a recent report, experts agree with the 43-year-old, saying high availability and low prices have contributed to a stark rise in deaths across England and Wales.

In the North East, deaths linked to cocaine rose for the fifth consecutive year in 2020, when the drug was mentioned on 62 death certificates – a record high.

Echo analysis of the most recent drugs poisoning statistics from the Office for National Statistics found cocaine accounted for a greater proportion of drug poisoning deaths that year than ever before, though opiates are still responsible for the majority of lives lost to drugs in our region.

Since 1994, 339 deaths linked to cocaine have been recorded in the North East – and in more than a third of those cases, no other substances were involved.

Mr Appleby, who says he was a serious drug user, is among campaigners calling for the legalisation of drugs in an effort to keep people safe and protect them from unscrupulous dealers.

The Teesside man says most users have no idea what is in their drugs, how strong they are or whether they have been cut with other substances.

The dangers of this, he says, are reflected in the mortality statistics.

Mr Appleby said: “I go into a supermarket and can’t pick anything up without being shown what exactly is in it and that should be the case with drugs.

“You should be able to know what you’re taking, what’s in it and how it will affect you.

“Now, people are relying on some average guy in his kitchen mixing drugs and hoping he knows what he’s doing.

“I’d much prefer mine mixed by someone with a chemistry degree in a lab.”

He believes cocaine use is growing and said the drug is easier and cheaper to obtain now than ever before – available on the streets for as little as £10.

More than 700 deaths linked to cocaine were registered across England and Wales in 2020, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.

That is up 10% on the year before and more than five times higher than recorded in 2010.

An ONS report accompanying the latest statistics said the rise is likely to be a direct consequence of an increasing prevalence in cocaine use.

It adds: “Both cocaine and heroin have been reported to have high availability in recent years, with low prices and high purity levels.”

Charity Humankind called the North East’s rate of drugs deaths – which were the highest in England in 2020 – “particularly shocking”.

A spokeswoman said the number of people dying from drug use, including cocaine, was a genuine public health emergency.

She warned cocaine users to minimise risk by not drinking alcohol, staying hydrated and only taking it in the company of trusted people.