AN ANTI-drugs campaigner has received death threats for his attempts to push drug dealers and addicts out of Skipton.

County Councillor Alex Bentley is so concerned at the amount of drugs available in the town that he has launched his own campaign against the number of people using and selling drugs in Skipton.

He described the situation in the town as near "epidemic proportions" and said that all residents must join forces and report every incident involving drugs, in confidence, to the police.

"I know what damage drugs can do. I was involved in tracking drugs in the forces.

"It is destroying young people's lives," he said.

A dedicated drugs squad plus beat officers from Skipton are working hard to catch and prosecute drug abusers but Coun Bentley said they needed more evidence.

"We have got to get every person aware of what is going on and to report anything they see."

Skipton Inspector Tad Nowakowski thanked the councillor for his support and said intelligence was important to policing especially with regard to drugs activity. "Me and my officers would welcome any information."

Insp Nowakowski said officers were on top of the drugs problem in Skipton and catching offenders was and has been for some time part of every police officer's daily work.

Coun Bentley launched his campaign after becoming aware of dealing going on in the town's streets every day and seeing people "spaced out" having taken drugs.

About half a dozen areas in Skipton have been identified as being the main areas for concern, and Coun Bentley has been collating evidence on drug abuse from residents in these areas.

Some residents in the Whinny Gill area have told him that they are too frightened to leave their houses in case of receiving abuse from people on drugs.

And Coun Bentley has been into an empty property in Skipton and gathered a whole carrier bag full of drug associated equipment including needles, foil and forks and spoons.

This and more evidence will be handed over to the police to help them catch the offenders.

Coun Bentley received death threats over the telephone for his involvement.

"But talk is cheap," he said. "I am not going to back off, I am going to keep on with it."

He thought that the growth in the number of people taking drugs was creating a society who "did not care about anything apart from where they can get their next fix." The knock on effect is a rise in shoplifting and burglary.

"Once they get hooked on drugs the motivation to go and get monies no matter what is incredible, and they will do anything."

To push drug addicts out of Skipton Coun Bentley not only wants everyone to report any drug abusers to the police but hopes to get North Yorkshire County Council to invest more money into activities, clubs and sports for young people to get them off the streets.

"There is nothing for kids to do in Skipton, unless they have got stacks of money they have had it."