COCAINE deaths hit a record number last year — more than five times that of a decade ago.

       Figures showed there were 777 in England and Wales in 2020.

       Cocaine deaths hit a record number last year — more than five times that of a decade ago Credit: Alamy

       That was nearly ten per cent higher than in 2019 and dwarfed the 144 who died in 2010.

       Deaths rocketed as the popularity and purity of the cocaine increased and the price dropped.

       Nearly 80 per cent of the dead were men, the Office for National Statistics data showed.

       The total who died from all drug overdoses was 4,561 — also the highest since records began and double that of ten years ago.

       Heroin accounted for half of them, and more than twice as many men died than women. Drug users born in the 1970s accounted for the majority.

       And people in the North are far more likely to die from an overdose than in the South.

       The ONS said: “There is an ageing cohort likely to be suffering the effects of long-term drug use and becoming increasingly susceptible to a fatal overdose.”

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       Dr Emily Finch, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, blamed “years of cuts” to addiction services.

       An eight-week consultation has been launched to allow paramedics, police and prison officers to carry naloxone, which can revive heroin overdose victims.

       Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Allowing police officers and other front-line workers to carry naloxone would mean more lives are saved from this terrible scourge.”

       Figures showed there were 777 cocaine deaths in England and Wales in 2020 Credit: Alamy

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