A NEWPORT charity has come up with the idea of setting up a residential project to help youngsters in the city kick drugs.

And the move has been backed by a heartbroken father whose teenage son died from a drugs overdose.

Following articles in the Argus highlighting the deaths of a number of young people from drugs, Newport Action for Single Homeless (NASH) has come up with an idea to tackle the problem.

The new scheme would include an accommodation- based project for young people who have just started on drugs.

The idea is being supported by Peter Lewis whose 18-year-old son Matthew Gibson died in August from a drugs overdose.

He said: "Everything I could do, I did. I sort of set up a home for me and Matthew and lived with him for 12 months and tried to change his habits but nothing at all worked.

"I tried so hard with him but at the end of the day he stole money and my video and I washed my hands of him.

"I regret that and I wanted to do more and thought I should have been able to do more. It is such a widespread problem, the kids here have nothing and I still have a feeling that something more could have been done for Matthew.

"If he had somewhere like this to go and somebody looking after him and drugs awareness in a place that understood his problem, I think it definitely would have helped."

The plans for the new scheme are still in the early stages but NASH's director Richard Frame says the support of the public is important.

He added: "A lot of parents have come forward through the Argus saying something needs to be done but nobody ever steps forward to do it.

"It is a growing problem and we thought we would like to try to help do something about it.

"We would like to know we have got the community on our side, if they are not it will be very difficult to do something about it."