Several people have been arrested as the result of a major campaign again heroin dealers by the Gloucester Citizen.

The paper has been calling on readers to phone in with information on dealers or stories of heroin addiction in a city named as one of the cheapest places in the country in which to buy the drug.

Deputy editor Bev Ward said: “We are always pleased when police arrest someone and secure a conviction because that’s what we are after through this campaign.

“We had people telling us they had seen dealers and knew what was going on but said the police weren’t interested. They couldn’t always be there at the right time, so we got people to phone and tell us, as well as the police.”

The campaign has resulted in a dossier of known dealers being handed to the police.

Mr Ward said: “None of this would have happened if our readers had not come forward with information about them.”

He said the area had always been a prime target for crime because of easy motorway access.

Police say heroin is so cheap in Gloucester – at £30 a gram, less than half the national average – because of its availability. They admitted at a public meeting that they were not catching the dealers.