A drugs chief has backed the findings of a new survey which suggests the cheapest place in the country to buy drugs is the North-East.

The survey for men's magazine FHM bionic found that more than half of those questioned in the region said drugs were cheaper than alcohol.

More than 4,000 men, aged between 16 and 59 and from across the country, were asked about their recreational use of cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and speed.

Andy Errington, head of Darlington's Community Safety and Youth Offending team, said: "It's not rocket science - the overall cost of living in the North-East is cheaper than the rest of the country.

"Drugs are like other commercial products and the cost of them is what the market will bear."

The survey also revealed that drug use among those questioned was up to four times higher than official Home Office figures.

It identified a group of middle-class professionals, dubbed "snortysomethings", who were the heaviest users of recreational drugs such as cocaine.

These were often older men holding down jobs in executive boardrooms or stressful office environments.

Mr Errington, who heads up a team responsible for drugs policy in Darlington, said his experience was that it was, in fact, younger men aged between 15 and 25 who took the most recreational drugs.

He said: "Classically, they are young men out on a Friday or Saturday night, although the age of those actively socialising in this way is increasing.

"We do find that some drugs are more popular than others among this crowd.

"For instance, cocaine, which features in the survey, has never been that popular in the North-East because of its cost."