MORE youngsters under the age of 20 are starting drug treatment on Teesside than anywhere else in the UK.

The number of addicts aged 15 to 24 seeking help is also six times the national average.

It has also been claimed that some of the youngsters experimenting with heroin, and requesting rehabilitation, could be as young as 11 years of age.

A spokesman for Tees Health said that youngsters across Teesside, who are being raised in some of the area's deprived housing estates, are growing up with three generations of drug abusers.

He said: "You have grandparents using drugs and now the grandchildren are taking them.

"It is likely that 11-year-olds could become addicted to heroin by getting the drug from their older brothers or sisters."

Tees Health commissioned a report, which has revealed drug services are failing to meet the needs of youngsters taking drugs.

The report focused on vulnerable groups, including children in care, the socially excluded, the homeless, those with drug-taking parents or those involved in crime and prostitution.

The aim of the report was to assess the need for drug treatment, care services and targeted drug prevention work among vulnerable young people.

The news has been welcomed by health chiefs, who say until now drug services tended to concentrate on adults and were not prepared for the number of youngsters seeking rehabilitation.