EXPERTS are hoping to turn around the lives of North-East drug users -by turning them into football stars.

The Government Office North-East (Gone) has invested £3,000 in an addicts' football tournament, to show there are easier ways of achieving a high.

The tournament is a joint venture by Gone, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, drug agencies, the police, probation service and Newcastle University. Together, they aim to set up a programme in which 100 drug service users will be divided into squads of ten.

The teams will work with ten drug agencies and ten university students, who will act as coaches and mentors to each team.

The teams will undergo eight weeks of coaching on consecutive Sundays from April 17, before they meet in early June for a competition on North Tyneside.

The project aims to show drug users they can achieve a natural adrenaline high through sports activities, such as football, and do not need to rely on illegal substances.

Alan Brown, of Gone, said: "The Government office is normally used to spending thousands or millions of pounds on programmes around the whole of the region.

"But this time, together with the National Treatment Agency in the region, we are investing £3,000 to cover staff costs, facilities costs, kit and related items to get this scheme off the ground.

"We are confident that such a modest investment will not only have a direct impact on the lives of the 100 people taking part as members of the various teams, but also on their families and, hopefully, on the communities in which they live."

Colin Bradbury, the regional manager for the National Treatment Agency, said: "Treatment not only works, but it is very cost-effective. For every £1 spent on treatment, at least £9 is saved in terms of reduced victim costs of crime and demands on the criminal justice system.

"Sport is becoming an important part of the treatment of drug offenders, and we are delighted to give our support to this innovative scheme here in the North-East."