'I've lost 50 friends to drug overdoses' - ex user

An ex-drug user said his lifestyle of opioids and addiction had stripped his body like a chicken and left him weighing less than nine stone (57kg).

Jeff Ashman, from Hastings, East Sussex, used heroin and cocaine for 24 years.

To pay for his drugs, Mr Ashman said he became a prolific shoplifter, stealing up to £600-worth of goods a day from Hastings shops which he would then sell on to pay for his £100-per-day habit.

In January, Mr Ashman said he "surrendered" and agreed to take part in a four-month drug treatment programme.