THE drug problem that is tearing the heart out of communities is being fuelled by some of the cheapest cocaine in the country.

Middlesbrough topped the league when the latest survey on street drug prices was carried out and it was discovered the town is the "drugs hub" of the North-East.

This found the average national price of a gram is £42, but in some areas of the town it is as low as £25, a fact disputed by Cleveland's crime-fighting boss.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, Cleveland Police's head of crime and operations, said: "It is a huge issue for society and for Teesside regardless of that fact.

"There are two ways of looking at this figure, one that there is so much on the street that it is cheap and the other is that we have cracked down on dealers so hard that there isn't the same demand as before.

"In the last year, we have had some cracking results but there is still plenty of work to be done."

The survey, across 15 towns and cities, was carried out among 40 frontline drug services in July by Druglink magazine and published by DrugScope.

It also found that the majority of heroin sold in Newcastle was bought first in Middlesbrough.

The drug was then diluted with cheaper chemicals, or simply reduced, with most £10 bags in the town containing 0.2g compared to 0.1g in Newcastle.

Harry Shapiro, editor of Druglink, said: "Middlesbrough has emerged as something of a drugs hub for the North-East, a base from which to move drugs on to other cities such as Newcastle.

"In addition to this, we are also seeing some of the cheapest cocaine in the UK being sold in Middlesbrough, although local drugs workers say this is chiefly made up of bicarbonate of soda."

It also emerged that ecstasy pills can be bought for as little as 50p in some parts of Britain