THE Herefordshire parents of heroin victim Rachel Whitear have called for a massive reform of the UK's drug laws after being taken on a tour of Holland.

Mick and Pauline Holcroft of Ledbury, went to the Netherlands, where cannabis can be openly bought and smoked, as part of their continuing campaign to search for answers over their daughter's death.

The couple were taken there for a special, two-part report to be shown on Central News tonight and tomorrow.

Mr and Mrs Holcroft released harrowing pictures of the dead body of 21-year-old Rachel, who died in a bedsit in Exmouth, Devon, after overdosing on heroin.

Following their journey, they said that they believe Rachel would still be alive today, had Britain followed Holland's lead in drugs.

The couple are now calling for massive reforms to the drug laws in Britain.

"I do honestly feel after talking to some of the experts and talking to heroin users, that there is a system in Holland that can help the families as well, and you would not feel quite so helpless," said Mr Holcroft, Rachel's step-father.

The couple were taken to Amsterdam to look at the way the Dutch have adopted a different and more open approach to drug use compared to Britain.

They visited a drop-in centre where they met other heroin users.

"It was amazing meeting those people," added Mrs Holcroft.

"When they needed help, it was more or less instantaneous - certainly within two days - to be put on a programme to come off it. They can't believe the circumstances under which Rachel died and were shocked by the photographs."

They claim that drugs education has a much higher priority in Dutch schools with children as young as nine being taught about drugs.

Central News took the Holcrofts to Haarlem, near Amsterdam, to see whether the lethal link between cannabis and hard drugs can be broken.

"I think the key issues are that cannabis is kept separately to other drugs," said Mrs Holcroft.

"In Britain, you have dealers with cannabis in one pocket and heroin in the other. When they run out of one, they give people the other. That's how they get hooked on heroin.

"There are far, far fewer heroin addicts in Holland, so Rachel would have been far less likely to meet up in those circles. And if Rachel had had problems here, she would have got help more or less immediately."