RANDOM drugs tests are set to be introduced into schools in a new crackdown on classroom abuse.

Eighteen schools have contacted a new supplier to ask for information about the tests.

Preventx is thought to be the first company in the country importing the saliva test which checks for cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, tranquilizers and barbituates.

The tests are designed to be used as a deterrent. Pupils and parents are informed that 25 youngsters will be chosen at random to undergo the tests every month.

Police in the North-East have been trying to tackle the drugs problem by working with schools and organisations dealing with vulnerable young people.

A survey carried out on Tyneside last year revealed 12-year-olds were using heroin, researchers who interviewed children in Newcastle found 34 under the age of 13 had used heroin, while 202 pre-teens had used other drugs.

School governor of Newcastle's West Jesmond Primary School Pat Hughes, who has a 15-year-old daughter Katie, said parents should have to give permission for random drug testing.

She said: "As a mother, I would want to know now if my daughter was tempted by drugs but I would like to be there when these tests were done.

"I wouldn't be against it but I would want to know a lot more about it and how it was going to be carried out and by whom. These people have to know what they are doing. What you don't want is there to be a mix up and someone being wrongly accused."

Elaine Kay of the NUT said: "Most teachers do not want to get involved in testing pupils for drugs, they do not see it as part of their role and it is potentially very damaging to their relationships with pupils and parents.

"I can understand that some heads would want to introduce testing because they want to take a tough stance against drugs and they want to be proactive.

"It would be much better if there was a council based service which schools could call in when they though there might be a problem - that would also act as a deterrent."