DRUG users in the borough are to receive a grant of nearly £100,000 to help cure them of their habit.

The Government grant is part of a £25 million hand out to the National Health Service to help reduce drug-related deaths and to improve services for abusers.

Bury and Rochdale Health Authority will get £99,000 which will go towards improving access to and increase availability of treatment services for drug misusers; introducing initiatives to reduce the injecting of drugs and sharing of needles; and to improve drug education programmes and rehabilitation services.

Gisela Stuart, health minister, said: "There are up to 200,000 problem drug misusers in the UK, of whom no more than half are in contact with treatment services, and it is clear that there is a great need for strengthening and improving services. We aim to see a 15 per cent reduction in waiting times for people referred to services."