SINCE the devastating death of their daughter, Paul and Jan Betts have talked to tens of thousands of people across the country in their determination to try to prevent even more deaths.

Paul Betts' main message to the parents of Bidford was to go home and talk to their children - and to not presume it could never happen to them.

Paul and Jan did not know Leah had ever taken drugs.

As she became progressively more poorly at her party, she told her parents she had taken an E and speed before and had smoked a joint.

In a powerful and often disturbing talk to the 150 people gathered in Bidford Primary School, Paul explained the tell-tale signs parents should look out for if they feared their youngsters were on drugs.

He also described some of the horrifying side effects people could face when they take drugs and explained the sometimes fatal results of sniffing gas.

At the end of the moving talk, the audience was shown a video of Leah's friends, family and tutors talking about what a wonderful person she was with a great future ahead of her.

This climaxed with home movie footage of Leah when she was growing up.

This was when the truth hit home for a lot of the audience. Leah was not bad, or a dare-devil or a drug addict.

She was a normal girl who did a fatally stupid thing and it could happen to anyone's child.

Paul stressed one thing when he was talking, the audience should not thank him for coming, they should "thank Leah for taking the pill and dying". Without her death, people like Paul and Jan would not be doing their utmost to educate people and prevent even more tragic wastes of life.

For more information, call the Leah Betts helpline on 01542 860760.

A small group of parents in the Stratford area who came together to discuss the hell, isolation and desperation they felt after discovering their children were taking drugs have set up the Stratford district branch of Parents and Drugs - a group with the sole purpose of helping parents in a similar situation who feel they have nowhere to turn.

The group runs a 24-hour helpline, holds fortnightly meetings and attends organisations to discuss their work.

Speaking at the meeting organised by Bidford Community Group, group spokesman Simon Yarwood said: "This is a small charity run by volunteers for parents who don't know where they can find support.

"It can often help people who may feel desperate and isolated to realise there are others going through the same experiences.

"When we planned this event last year, we could never have predicted that between then and now, three people connected with this area would die from drugs.2

Mr Yarwood added: "Although Bidford isn't the worst area in the district, there are still problems here. Initially we were going to visit Alcester or Studley, which have bigger drug challenges, but we chose Bidford as the community group took the initiative to invite us, that's a positive thing."

The group and a Warwick University professor have applied for a Lottery grant for a four-year study into the needs of family and friends of people on drugs.

The group is also looking for new volunteers.

Call Lesley on 01789 261376 or attend St Andrew's Parish Centre, Church Lane, Shottery, at 7.30pm on the first and third Monday of the month.