Drugs have killed 12 people since December in one Cumbrian town

Drugs have killed 12 people in a single Cumbrian town since December, resulting in a death rate that is higher than many UK cities.

Police says that staff cuts are severely affecting their ability to prevent the ready flow of drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine in the town of Barrow-in-Furness.

The local county council has also pointed the finger at government cuts, which has resulted in a huge reduction of drug and alcohol services.

According to Cumbria Police, the budget cuts have resulted in the loss of surveillance and intelligence officers who have previously secured prison sentences totalling almost 200 years for drug offences across the past 18 months.

‘We will keep doing what we can within the resources that we’ve got’, Cumbria Police’s Nick Coughlan told the BBC.

‘Inevitably, if the pattern continues, more people will die.’

Mr Coughlan also says that the 12 deaths are ‘totally disproportionate’ in a town of 67,000 people.

In a statement, Cumbria County Council described drug use as ‘extremely complex’.

‘The commissioning of services is also largely dependent on budget – in Cumbria, we have one of the lowest public health budgets per head in the country, and austerity savings of over £200m in a 10-year period have meant that budgets across all council services have been reduced’, a statement confirmed.

At present, drug-related deaths are at record levels across Britain, with the latest figures revealing that 4,611 people died following drug misuse in 2016.