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

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

The tournament is a joint venture and sees the Government Office working with the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, alongside partners in drug agencies, the police, probation service and Newcastle University.

Together they aim to set up a programme in which 100 drug service users - split into squads of 10 - will work with 10 drug agencies and 10 university students, who will act as football coach and mentor to each team.

The teams will then undergo eight weeks of coaching on consecutive Sundays from April 17, before coming together to take part in a competition at Longbenton, in early June.

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

Alan Brown, director of communities group at Government Office for the North-East ,said: "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, 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."