A decade ago there was a stigma surrounding heroin. The 'Heroin Screws You Up' poster campaign and the knowledge that HIV could be transmitted by needle-sharing meant heroin was the ultimate taboo.

Added to that, many young people admitted to having a fear of needles and couldn't bear the thought of injecting the drug into their veins.

But in the last few years heroin has become one of the leading illegal drugs in the country. In Oxford, addicts say there is an 'epidemic'.

Youngsters can buy a fix for less than a week's pocket money. Dealers have even given heroin a new name to shake off its old associations. It's known as brown and the powdered drug, which looks like brick dust, can be bought almost on any street corner - if you make it your business to try.

Thames Valley Police's Detective Inspector Ian Robinson admits there is 'a boom' in the number of heroin users in Oxfordshire.

DI Robinson says the key to this lies in the way drug dealers have changed the way they market the drug. By taking away the traditional stigma it has become far more attractive to younger users. And there's no need to inject now because many people now smoke it after heating it in a piece of foil.

He says: "About ten years ago the only way to take heroin was through injection but now they smoke it, called chasing the dragon, and this makes it more appealing to youngsters.

"You can even get tee-shirts with pictures of dragons on.

"Young people don't see the dangers. Frighteningly, some even say it's less harmful than smoking cannabis because you don't use any tobacco.

"Dealers also no longer call it heroin, but brown instead. It's all a ploy to make it appeal to youngsters."

But despite the accessibility of heroin DI Robinson believes the battle against drugs in the county is gradually being won.

"Figures show we have got to the stage where drug use is beginning to level off. I have been involved in drug work for 20 years and this is the first year when I have started to feel optimistic.

"We are not going to be able to solve the problem completely but at least we are starting to make a difference. It will just take time."

DI Robinson is playing a major role in implementing the Government's ten-year drugs strategy across Oxfordshire.

He works closely with the county's Drugs Action Team (DAT) which is tackling the problem on a long-term basis.

Police officers and representatives from the DAT regularly visit schools to give talks and teach youngsters of all ages about the dangers of drugs and to respect their bodies by not harming them with poisonous substances.