A fresh education campaign, with a similar message to the anti drink-driving stance embedded in the 1970s, is needed to teach children that taking class A drugs is “shameful”, a meeting has heard.

North Yorkshire has seen a significant rise in complex child death cases, such as drug-related ones over 2020/21 and analysis is being undertaken to examine why.

In a report to a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s young people scrutiny committee, the Child Death Overview Panel chair Anita Dobson said over the last year the panel was “mindful of an increase in drug-related deaths”.

She said it was thought the rise “may well be an indication of reduced mental wellbeing amongst young people, for which coronavirus could be a contributing factor” and that the panel would monitor the situation closely.

The concerns follow pledges by North Yorkshire and York’s past and present police, fire and crime commissioners to prioritise tackling county lines drug dealing gangs, which often target children, particularly in Harrogate and Scarborough.

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Councillors were told there had already been “a lot of work in educating children and young people directly” as well as parents and carers, to ensure people were aware of the risks of taking class A drugs.

Harrogate Central councillor John Mann told the meeting as well as tackling the supply of class A drugs, efforts to reduce demand for them were needed as “without the demand there would be no supply”.

He suggested an education drive, using a similar antisocial message to the 1970s drink-driving campaign, was required.

Cllr Mann said:

'Complex situation'

After the meeting, the authority’s children’s services executive member, Cllr Janet Sanderson, said she agreed with making taking class A drugs socially unacceptable.

She said: