A fall in the price of cocaine has led to the highest number of young people using class A drugs in more than a decade, experts say.
Cocaine prices are at their lowest levels in more than 25 years and young people are finding Class A drugs easily accessible, charities warned.
The drug is more widely available thanks to mobile phones and is being distributed to users outside city centres thanks to "county lines" in which gangs use children to export their trade to suburban and rural areas.
Figures released by the Home Office from the Crime Survey of England and Wales for 2017/18 show that 8.4 per cent of 16 to 24 year-olds had used Class A drugs in the last year, compared to seven per cent in 2016/17.
The proportion is the highest since 2005/6 and a significant rise from the recent low of 4.8 per cent, seen in 2012/13.
