The amount of heroin addicts being seen by Bradford’s biggest drugs charity has dropped by ten per cent but many people are still turning to cannabis and alcohol to cope, its chief executive has warned.

The Bridge Project, based in Salem Street, helps 1,000 people a year tackle their drug problems, usually dealing with those on heroin or crack cocaine.

John Royle said that, despite the ten per cent drop, some heroin addicts injecting into their groin face limb amputation because of the dangers of where they inject.

Mr Royle added that, despite the worst recession in decades, he had seen a slight reduction in the number of people referred to the charity with heroin problems.

“No one is really sure why this is,” he said. “It is a little bit surprising as we all thought with the recession more people would be using drugs.

“It is difficult to account for but could be because there are better treatment facilities getting more and more people off drugs.

“There seems to be less younger people using heroin and we are starting to get aging heroin users.

“That is good news in many respects because there are less heroin and crack users, but we are seeing more young people starting to use alcohol and very strong cannabis.

“They bring a different set of problems such as dependence, mental health problems, anxiety, paranoia and isolation.

“Less young people are using heroin and I hope that it is actually getting through to them that the image of the drug does not appeal.”

But he stressed the importance of the needle exchange programmes which limited the spread of blood borne infections such as HIV and hepatitis C.

“Injecting in the groin is very, very close to the arteries or large nerves and in the worst-case scenario people lose their limbs,” he said.

“We work very hard with hardcore injectors to keep them as safe as possible.

“We have the needle exchange so people can get clean needles and reduce the risk of infection.

“You do get some people with severe health problems such as deep vein thrombosis and once users step over the threshold of injecting, the risks of overdose rise.

“Some people criticise the use of methadone, but it cuts down on the amount of injecting and illegal drug use and leads to a reduction in crime.”

The charity is working on opening a new abstinence centre at the bottom of Manningham Lane at the end of the year to help people become completely drug free and get back into employment.