PROJECTS to tackle drug issues in Ipswich are to get a £50,000 boost.Ipswich Borough Council has allocated the money in a bid to help more people whose lives are affected by drug misuse.

PROJECTS to tackle drug issues in Ipswich are to get a £50,000 boost.

Ipswich Borough Council has allocated the money in a bid to help more people whose lives are affected by drug misuse.

The Iceni Project will benefit from £20,000, which will be used to buy new and improve existing equipment.

This will include treatment couches, therapy chairs and relaxation mats, computer equipment for clinics and portable computer equipment for outreach work.

Resuscitation models for overdose and CPR training, a specialist television and video for use on outreach vehicles and portable education materials to take out into the field will also be funded with the money.

The project, which is one of the Mayor's charities this year, is a charitable trust providing care, support and advice to those in the Ipswich community whose lives have been affected directly or indirectly by the misuse of drugs.

It is hoped the new equipment will result in more people being able to take advantage of the service offered, which includes a free intensive support programme for anyone who shows a genuine desire to stop using drugs.

The Community Drugs Team will also be given £20,000 to increase its capacity to deliver education services to existing drug-users and those most at risk of becoming involved in substance misuse.

Equipment will be provided to doctors to enable them to provide help and to prescribe at outreach clinics.

The remaining £10,000 from the council's Liveability Fund will be held in the form of a community chest used to support drug initiatives across the town when needed.

Paul West, borough councillor with the communities portfolio, said: "We are determined to ensure that the issue of drugs is a key priority for us.

"It is not good enough to sit back and watch the impact that drug misuse has on society and its link with crime.

"It is also not enough to treat it solely as a criminal matter. That is why we have made this money available and are working with our partners to tackle the problem at source and offer help to those who are caught in the trap."