Drugs are killing more people in Scotland than ever before.

574 people died as a result of drug abuse last year -  26% higher than the previous year and more than double the figure from ten years ago.

One person who has experienced the devastating circumstances of drugs is Keith Fowler. He found his heroin-addicted son Perry dead in his bedroom in the family’s East Lothian home.

Mr Fowler said: "For the family, especially for my wife, it is absolutely devastating. There is not a day that goes by when she doesn’t shed a tear, or wanting him to come home. You can be just driving about then the effects,  the realisation that Perry is dead and that you will never ever see him again is absolutely devastating."

The statistics from the General Register Office for Scotland, show that of those who died last year through drugs, 80% of the victims were men and the majority of deaths (34%) happened in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

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RESOURCES

Full statistical information on drugs deaths

Scottish Drugs Forum website

Scottish Network for Families Affected by Drugs website

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The other areas that saw a significant number of drugs deaths were Lothian (16%) and Tayside (9%). The death toll in Scotland overall has risen in eight of the past ten years.

Experts believe the death rate is rising partly because of the growing numbers of older drug users, many having been addicts for several years. Dr Roy Robertson, chairman of the National Drug Related Death Forum, said part of the cause of the rise in numbers was the ageing population of drug users.

He said: "Every death is important and deserves further investigation and the forum is putting in place mechanisms to clarify the reasons behind every tragic fatal incident."

Biba Brand, from the Scottish Drugs Forum, added: "It is difficult to tell exactly why older drug users are increasingly featuring among the drug death statistics. However, many will have been using drugs - primarily heroin - for a long time.

"As a result, their physical health will have deteriorated and many will have become increasingly socially isolated over the years. This could make them more vulnerable to accidental or deliberate overdose."

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said the Scottish Government was trying to tackle the drugs problem.

He said: "These figures demonstrate the real impact of drug misuse which extends far beyond the individual drug user - it destroys lives. Nothing can ever replace the loss of a loved one. That makes the aim of our drug strategy, to help more people recover from problem drug use and move into healthy drug-free lives, all the more important."