The UK drugs blackspot where ‘catatonic’ heroin addicts sprawl over pavements… as dealers ‘pay taxi drivers for drops’

SHELTERING in the underpass a stone’s throw from a busy shopping arcade, a young man sits hunched, begging for money to feed his drug habit.

His tiny frame barely supports him, his eyes are red and sunken into his sallow face, and he struggles to speak coherently.

The man, Tom, tells The Sun he used to live in Cardiff, but moved to Port Talbot recently, unaware the town and its’ neighbour Swansea have the highest number of drugs deaths in Wales.

He admits he is ‘using’, but doesn’t share his substance of choice. He struggles to string together a sentence after this.

The 35-mile move, coupled with his drug dependency, may ultimately cost Tom his life, as almost twice as many people in the Swansea and Port Talbot area die from drugs related deaths as in the bigger city of Cardiff.

Organised crime gangs are largely responsible for flooding the small town’s streets with dangerous, illicit substances.

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Several people The Sun approached on a gloomy winter’s day in Port Talbot reply they are reformed drugs addicts, having been released from the grip of the most common class A drugs in the area, which are known to be heroin and crystal meth.

One, Matthew Bourne tells us proudly he is 17 years sober. He says he was tricked into taking illegal drugs.

“My ex-partner put heroin in my coffee one day back in 2009 and that was it. I spent the next year doing speed, cannabis, blow (crack cocaine), squidgy black (Cannabis resin like hash), all sorts of things.

“I felt ill all the time, was as pale as a ghost and knew I needed help. The following year I went to the doctor and was in rehab. It was really hard staying off it for the first six months, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Now I spend the money on my kids.

“I’m from Neath, but in Port Talbot it’s everywhere. You see people getting off their faces all the time. Dealers have approached children at a local school, asking 15-year-olds if they want to buy drugs, and one dealer even got a taxi driver to deliver his drops for him.

“I reported that to the police but I’m not sure if anything happened. The vape shops and barbers here have been raided and shut down, with new ones opening up every few months.

“One of them even sells bongs to smoke cannabis, which doesn’t send
the best message.

“I think there is more support needed for people who find themselves addicted to drugs. The way things are it’s not a shock the figures show so many people in this area dying.”

An anonymous man told us he’d been clean for 20 years, but said: “Should there be more support? Some people should help themselves a bit more.”
The prevalence of drugs is worrying to members of the public.

Suzan Fletcher, 55, has lived in Port Talbot all her life. “I think there’s always been a drugs problem here, the kids who live here get bored and there’s nothing for them to do, so I think it’s got worse over the years.

“It does concern me because I don’t want my grandchildren to fall in with the wrong crowd and go down that route.”

Dealers have approached children at a local school, asking 15-year-olds if they want to buy drugs, and one dealer even got a taxi driver to deliver his drops for him.

Matthew Bourne

One businessman in the main pedestrianised part of the town, Station Road, has witnessed first-hand the devastation that route can lead to, although he did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

He said: “It’s much worse on the streets in the spring and summer, it’s a nightmare with people sprawled all over the pavements clearly on drugs. I’ve seen a number of overdoses.

“One man was absolutely catatonic, he was almost passed out but screaming in agony, the ambulance and police came and took him away to treat him, but he was back later that day.

“Another guy overdosed with his legs one way over the bench and his head the other side, he was bent double and stuck like that until the police came.

“Some of the convenience stores don’t help either because they sell single cans to alcoholics and even give them a tot of vodka. It’s a huge problem here and more needs to be done to deter it and help people come off drugs.”

Drug death record high

Many of South Wales Police’s officers carry nasal Naxalone, an antidote to the effects of heroin. It has been used successfully 165 times.

Latest figures from ONS show 72 people died from drugs poisoning in the Swansea and Port Talbot area in 2024, compared to 38 in Cardiff.

For the period between 2021 and 2023, Swansea had the highest number of drug poisoning deaths in Wales (137 deaths), with a rate of 20.6 per 100,000 people.

Neath Port Talbot recorded a rate of 18 deaths per 100,000 for the same 2021–2023 period.

That figure is almost double the amount as Wales’ capital city Cardiff, although Swansea and Port Talbot have been known as one of the areas for the worst substance-linked deaths for several years.

Neath Port Talbot has a high number of areas of deprivation, with 20 per cent of its areas in the most deprived 10 per cent for employment and 72 per cent in the most deprived 50 per cent overall.

Drug-related deaths in England and Wales are at the highest level since records began 30 years ago.

In 2024, 5,565 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered across England and Wales, according to ONS data, a figure which rises steadily every year.

In 2023 an independent commission was established to investigate the causes of high death rates in Swansea and Port Talbot, and recommended a more integrated approach between drug support, housing, and mental health services.

The Western Bay Drugs Commission concluded drug users in Swansea and Port Talbot were ‘swimming in a disjointed system that struggles to meet their needs’.

The independent panel reported this was due to ‘cultural paralysis’.
The commission’s report said complex drug use, the support available and untimely deaths were linked.

Recurring themes were how important secure housing and mental health support were for drug users.

Trafficking target

South Wales Police’s lead for substance abuse, Superintendent Mark Kavanagh, said: “South Wales Police is working in partnership with Swansea Bay University Health Board, Public Health Wales and third sector organisations to respond to the challenges of substance use in Port Talbot and surrounding areas.

“Together, we have developed systems and processes to ensure that those
dependent upon drugs receive the supportive interventions they need to break the cycle of addiction.

“We also have programmes of work designed to identify those vulnerable users who require intensive support to manage the complex nature of their substance use.

“South Wales Police has engaged with these public health approaches as it is recognised that we need to work with partners to solve the issue of people who commit crime in order to support their drug use.

It’s a nightmare with people sprawled all over the pavements clearly on drugs. I’ve seen a number of overdoses.

Anon businessman

“The current drugs market is complex; we see a broad range of commodities being used, including cannabis, alcohol, heroin, cocaine, ketamine and illicit benzodiazepines.

“Additionally, drugs are used by a wide range of people from
different parts of society, and it is therefore important that frontline officers are aware that virtually anyone can be impacted by drugs.

“Port Talbot is an area which continues to be targeted by Organised Crime Groups trafficking drugs into communities, and we have dedicated teams whose role it is to target offenders and put them for the court.

“Neighbourhood Policing Teams conduct intelligence gathering and problem-solving activity within communities and then work with our Organised Crime Teams to take appropriate enforcement action.

“We continue to see significant support from the public and partners in relation to the provision of information and intelligence about
drugs.”