GIRL'S DEATH ADDS TO RECORD DRUGS TOLL

The West of Scotland's drugs toll has reached an all-time high with a
spate of deaths over Christmas, including a 15-year-old girl who is
thought to have taken drugs at a party.

Kerry-Ann Kirk, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, who apparently had no
history of drug abuse, is believed to have drunk the heroin substitute
methadone at a Christmas Day party in a boyfriend's house and was
found dead on Boxing Day.

She is thought to be Scotland's youngest drugs fatality this
year.

An animal lover, she had just finished prelim exams at St Patrick's
High School and had considered applying for the mounted police force.
Friends and neighbours said she was the last person they expected to
see reduced to a drugs statistic.

She was a popular schoolgirl who worked at two part-time jobs, behind
the counter at a Chinese takeaway and at a Santa's grotto.

A 26-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were also found dead on
Boxing Day after apparently taking heroin in the two other incidents,
taking the number of suspected drugs deaths in Strathclyde to seven in
just three days.

The exact causes of the deaths will not be confirmed until the results
of post-mortem examinations and toxicology tests are known.

The grim finds follow the discovery of the bodies of four men who died
in separate suspected drugs-related incidents on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day.

The total number of drugs fatalities in Strathclyde this year is now a
record 146, almost 50% more than the figure for last year.

Anti-drugs campaigners and the police said many youngsters were
ignoring the warnings, some paying with their lives. They also called
on relatives and friends of people misusing drugs to take a more
active role in tackling the problem.

Drugs czar Keith Hellawell warned that drugs created "one moment of
deceived euphoria but a lifetime of devastation" and urged parents to
help.

Strathclyde Police said society must use every means at its disposal
to eradicate the problem, and stressed it was not the responsibility
of the police alone. Scotland Against Drugs (SAD) warned of the need
to give young people a good reason not to become involved in drugs and
to tackle the wider issue of social inclusion.

Police said the body of Kerry-Ann Kirk, of Ailsa Road, was found at a
house in School Street, Coatbridge, on Sunday.

Her distraught family said yesterday that she was vigorously
anti-drugs and suggested she may have had a drink ''spiked'' with a
substance such as methadone. Police were questioning people who were
at the party.

The body of David Adair, 26, of no fixed address, was discovered in a
house at North Shore Road, Troon, Ayrshire, on Sunday. The body of
Natasha Gartley, 23, of Scaraway Street, Milton, Glasgow was found in
a house in Cockenzie Street, in the city's Greenfield district, also
on Sunday.

A police spokesman said there appeared to be no suspicious
circumstances surrounding any of the deaths.

With four days of the year remaining, drugs deaths in Strathclyde
could rise to 150 or more. The previous record was 102 in 1995, before
a fall to 84 in 1996 and 51 in 1997, followed by a rise last year to
exactly 100.

Ironically, the record number of drugs deaths coincides with a highly
successful year for Strathclyde Police, having recovered more than
UKP41m of illicit drugs, while 14,400 drugs related of-fences have
been reported to procurators fiscal.

Chief Constable John Orr said it was a multi-faceted and complex
problem. "While the police can contribute greatly to enforcement and
related spheres, this is not an area that should be the responsibility
of the police alone.

"I believe in improved, professional and kindred drugs co-ordination
allied to the creation of a climate where people or individuals who
witness relatives or friends indulging in drug misuse should have the
courage to report such incidents to a responsible person."

Detective Superintendent Barry Dougall, Strathclyde Police's drugs
co-ordinator, said more than 70% of the deaths can be directly related
to heroin, and this figure increases when it is used in ''cocktail''
with other drugs.

Scotland Against Drugs said the death of Kerry-Ann Kirk highlighted
the need to be aware that illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and
cannabis are not the only dangers. SAD director Alistair Ramsay also
said it was needed to give those using drugs more hope and ambition.
"One thing that strikes you when you speak to many drug users is that
people often don't care whether they live or die. That suggests that,
underlying their drug abuse, there is a lack of a good reason not to
take drugs."