'FAILURE' ANTI-DRUG BOSS GETS THE CHOP

Drug-buster Keith Hellawell is to be axed after failing to halt the
rise in child addicts.

The former police chief will be ousted after completing his third
annual report this summer.

Mr Hellawell has made little impact in cutting drug use among
youngsters since starting his UKP 106,000-a-year job.

New Home Secretary David Blunkett has now decided to take full
personal control of the anti-drugs drive.

He will lead a wave of tough initiatives aimed at tackling drug
dealers head-on, and give police new powers to seize the assets of
traders.

Mr Hellawell, 59, will be shunted into a part-time role tackling
international trafficking.

Targets

A Whitehall source said last night: "The writing was on the wall for
Keith the moment Mr Blunkett took over."

The former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire was hired by Tony Blair
to wage a US-style war on drug peddlers, but has failed to meet
government targets.

A report last year revealed a rise in the number of kids aged 11 to 15
who admitted using drugs, with four out of ten experimenting before
they reach 16.

Critics claim Mr Hellawell's education policies have little effect. He
also sparked a row by pressing for drug tests at work and clashed with
ex-Cabinet enforcer Mo Mowlam over whether cannabis is a gateway to
harder drugs.