A WOMAN is appealing to a community to help save its young people from drug addiction.

Anti-drugs campaigner Tina Williams wants volunteers, business people and professionals, with knowledge of money markets, to help her launch an apprenticeship scheme for addicts.

Mrs Williams, who has discussed her idea with Alan Brown, crime director of Government North East, says only the prospect of real jobs and a future will break a downward spiral into drugs on Teesside.

The project manager of Panic (Parents and Addicts against Narcotics In the Community), she said: "Young people take drugs because they are bored and have nothing else to do.

"Drug addicts want the same as everyone else in life - a job, a home and a family. Until you can offer them a proper future with meaning, anything else is just putting sticking plaster over an open cut.

"We would like to see meaningful jobs for people. Apprenticeships and self-build housing schemes," said Mrs Williams.

"We would like to hear from anyone with the wherewithal to help us.

"At Panic, we are dealing with it day to day and we live with it, but we need a little bit of help."

She is writing to Prime Minister Tony Blair, as MP for the neighbouring constituency of Sedgefield, for his support.

Mrs Williams said: "While we have the passion and commitment to see it through, we need an entrepreneur to go with us, to provide a bricklayer and a plumber to give the apprenticeship training; and someone with ability who can get access to funding.

"We need premises where apprenticeship training can be carried out."

Mrs Williams criticised what she said had so far been "Mickey Mouse" schemes which did not offer serious training for proper jobs.

She said: "It's no good parachuting people in from outside.

"Unless you can empathise with issues and problems in your area, how can you even start to make an impression on the problem ?

"This would give an addict a reason to get better. When addiction takes over, they don't care any more.

"But we need to put together a team to drive this forward, a team of commonsense people.''

She said the alternative would be a continuing downward spiral.

"Unless we turn this round we have lost. If we fail, our town centres will be laid waste and taken over by organised crime.''

Anyone who can help is asked to contact Panic on (01642) 871999.