My 15-year-old daughter is without a father and all his family and I am left without a husband and his family because of heroin abuse.

Her father is still alive but this vile drug has torn our family apart. We were together for 18 years.

Her father started using heroin and we split up two-and-a-half years ago. My daughter does not want to see him because of the things he would say to her and how he would behave when he had taken heroin.

My daughter and I will never get over it. She has lost her self-confidence and does not attend school often. A lot of other things have gone on that we are trying to put right and we have had to seek professional advice.

We both feel so sad sometimes and often talk about the happy times together until this drug wrecked our lives.

This must be happening to so many families. Believe me, there is no class to this drug.

I always thought scum or down-and-outs were heroin users but it's normal, everyday working people who are ruining their lives and the lives of people they should care about.

Users are more common and much younger. Security guards I know are arresting teenagers stealing to fund their habit. Something has to be done.

Where I work, security made three arrests in one afternoon of people shoplifting - all heroin users.

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