Jeff Ashman from Hastings says the supply of drugs in the town 'cannot be stopped' by police.
Jeff Ashman, from Hastings, used heroin and cocaine for 24 years but is now getting treatment.An ex-drug user says police crackdowns on county lines gangs in his community were "not working" as the criminal networks were too deeply rooted.He says Sussex Police's attempts to dismantle drugs gangs only "slow it down for a day or two" and any gaps in the drugs market were quickly filled.
Jeff Ashman, 52, told the BBC there were "layers and layers" of drugs dealers in Hastings and the supply of drugs "cannot be stopped". He said the drugs he had taken for decades had '"stripped him like a chicken", leaving him weighing less than nine stone . In January, Mr Ashman said he "surrendered" and agreed to take part in a four-month drug treatment programme.hereDavid Perry, from the Seaview Project, a charity which helped steer Mr Ashman towards structured treatment, says heroin in East Sussex was often "contaminated" with other substances, including synthetic opioids, which he says were "more potent than the heroin itself".He said: "I have a partner, back in touch with all my children.