THIS month, the Star reported that drug deaths in Llanelli were on the decrease — ending an alarming spiral of tragedy.

We discovered in 2009 that the number of people killed by drugs in the town had quadrupled, leaping from three in 2006 to ten in 2007, and then 13 in 2008.

Since then, however, the trend appears to have been reversed. Latest figures show eight people lost their lives to drugs during 2009, with only three recorded drug-related deaths in 2010.

And although Welsh Assembly Government officials cautioned that a backlog of uncompleted inquests meant the final figure for 2010 could rise, a spokesman confirmed the general trend was downwards thanks to the work of harm reduction groups.

Bosses at Carmarthenshire Council and Hywel Dda Health Board put the fall down to a number of different initiatives. Head of strategic partnerships Peter Llewellyn said: "In response to the increasing number of drug-related deaths in Llanelli, a harm reduction group was established in November 2009.

"The main priority was to consider serious incidents and near misses including drug- related deaths on a multi-agency basis and to agree the best method of preventing such events from occurring in future.

"The group has continued to meet regularly and has improved communication between statutory agencies.

"Among the recent initiatives undertaken were the introduction of Naloxone, a medication which, when given, temporarily reverses the effect of the overdose of drugs such as heroin.

"This intervention, already used successfully in Llanelli, allows time for the ambulance to be called and its effect can last between 20 minutes and an hour.

"The group has also established effective links with community pharmacies to reduce the amount of illicit methadone available in the town."

Naloxone can be administered by nurses from Llanelli drug rehab centre Kaleidoscope and West Wales Substance Misuse Service.

Kaleidoscope celebrated its first year of making a difference in the town in November, having helped more than 60 people in that time.

Chief executive Martin Blakebrough said: "We believe the strong partnership of the drug services, the community and the highlighting of issues by the media has helped to make a real difference in this matter.

"Sadly, however, any death is in itself a tragedy and we still recognise there are too many people suffering from addiction. It is vital we try even harder to give people a route out of addiction."

Last year, Lisa Moore set up The Hannah Meredith Foundation, which aims to help support families of drug addicts, after she lost her 17-year-old niece Hannah to heroin in 2009.

She said positive progress was being made.

"The most recent figures for 2010 reflect a fall in deaths — but to a family which loses someone to drugs that number is still too high," she said.

"The drug rehab centre Kaleidoscope has done tremendous work for our community and made a huge difference in the town.

"I am also delighted the police have changed to a humanistic approach by recognising that treatment is the best solution rather than punishment.

"But we must not forget about the families that are struggling with no practical or emotional support, trying to cope with their loved ones' complex behaviour — or like Hannah's family trying to come to terms with her death.

"I have a huge amount of respect for those that are addressing the substance misuse problem in Llanelli."

Kevin Fisher, regional manager of the Dyfed-Powys Drug Intervention Programme, said agencies were working hard to address the problem.

He said: "There has been a significant reduction in drug- related deaths over the past year. "This is in large part attributable to the very significant interagency working in Llanelli, and in particular the expansion of and increased access to drug services.

"The focus on providing direct access to prescribing services for drug-using offenders has resulted in significantly higher numbers of individuals in treatment.

"This, coupled with the development of our Tough Choices service — where offenders are tested on arrest — has increased our ability to identify drug offenders and direct them into treatment at the earliest opportunity."

As well as Kaleidoscope, the town is home to the Chooselife drug and alcohol intervention service, which has hopes of expanding.

And Llanelli AM Helen Mary Jones warned that more work is still needed.

"It is encouraging to see the numbers of deaths relating to drugs is dropping in Llanelli," she said. "But while one single person is at risk, we can never afford to be complacent.

"It is undoubtedly true that services for people with drugs and alcohol problems in the Llanelli area have improved in the past few years, and we've got some excellent services working very hard to help people face their problems.

"But there is always much more that can be done."