OFFERING free samples is an accepted retail ploy to interest potential customers.

But, in a disgusting twist on this system, drug dealers in the Bolton area are offering "free samples" of heroin to entice first-time users to become enmeshed in the habit.

Bags of the addictive Class A drug worth between £5 and £10 are being used to encourage people into this evil web.

The "free" offer means that users are constantly in debt to the pushers, and find it almost impossible to get free. With the weight of their drug money, the dealers can exert real control over their customers.

A reformed addict has revealed this frightening trap, and explained how it not only affects those taking drugs but also their families. In his case, he states,"everybody suffered."

The drug culture goes right across creed, colour and social class. It is an insidious, destructive force and it cannot be stopped until enough people stand up and say "no."

The simple but effective methods to gain new "customers" that drug dealers employ are relatively easy to spot, and initially refuse. Unfortunately, the temptations for some people are simply too great.

We urge everyone who knows where drugs are being dealt to inform the police.

And we ask all those who may be tempted to "sample" something as dangerous as heroin to think twice before taking it. Once started, this habit is far, far more difficult to stop -- and may have a deadly result.