The nerve centre of Preston's drugs operations threw open its doors on Tuesday to give visitors a rare insight into its services.

It is the first time the Preston Substance Misuse Service, based at Bickerstaffe House, Garstang Road, has opened to the public since services were centralised there last year.

Staff at the centre were on hand to discuss what support is on offer to about 260 users in Preston.

The event, part of the National Tackling Drugs Day, included displays and leaflets about local initiatives aimed mainly at class A' substance misusers. The service also offers a full range of treatment and support including counselling, advice, a needle and syringe exchange, and health promotion.

Mick Fowler, who manages the centre, said:"We are tackling drug related crime and health problems across the city by transforming the drug services that we provide.

"Even something as simple as bringing different agencies together under one roof at Bickerstaffe House is helping us tackle drug misuse more effectively."

The centre is the city's first one-stop shop for drugs services and includes an arrest referral unit, which helps to crackdown on drug related crime, the Drugs Rehabilitation Requirements (DRR) team, which works with convicted criminals to access treatment after release from prison and a team dedicated to supporting heroin and crack cocaine users trying to quit drugs through methadone and other treatments.