A national network of NHS “shooting galleries” for heroin addicts could be set up after a pilot scheme in Brighton was judged a success.

The results of a three-year study into the supervised provision of heroin for addicts will be released today.

Brighton was chosen alongside London and Darlington for the study to see if it helped to reduce the number of deaths from drug overdoses and cut drug crime.

Experts from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse will today call for the scheme to be adopted nationally at a conference in London.

The pilot Randomised Injecting Opioid Treatment Trial (RIOTT) scheme began in Brighton in 2007 as officials tried to tackle the city’s drug problem.

The latest figures show there were 44 drug-related deaths in Brighton and Hove in 2008.

There are thought to be 2,000 injecting drugs addicts in the city.

Most rely on crime to fund their habit.

Government figures show that 10% of drug addicts commit 75% of all acquisitive crime – offences such as robbery and burglary – in Brighton and other cities every year.

Treatment Ian Wilson, head of the Brighton project, has helped a number of addicts to kick their habit.

Up to 30 were treated at the injection clinic run by Brighton Substance Misuse Service and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Wilson, who led the Brighton scheme with consultant psychiatrist Hugh Williams, said the clinics were for addicts who could not control their drug use with conventional treatment.

He said: “Regrettably, as The Argus has highlighted, Brighton has one of the worst levels of drug use and drug-related deaths in the country.

“It would mean a great deal to the community to find new ways to help deal with this situation.”

The team implemented a programme not only for addicts to inject drugs under supervision but to provide back-up for them in the community.

They were given support from social services and housing and counselling if it was needed.

Mr Wilson added: “When they started with us they were continuing to inject heroin on a daily basis.

“What we now see is a group of people who are fully engaged in their own recovery.

“All are looking forward to achieving their goals step by step.

“Some have progressed to being drug-free and we are now in touch with them only to provide aftercare.

“The majority have either ceased illicit opiate use or have shown a marked reduction in their use.”

Mr Wilson added that the use by the addicts of other drugs such as crack cocaine had also reduced and there appeared to be a reduction in crime as a result of the project.

Gavin Beard, lead addiction therapist at The Priory clinic in Hove, welcomed the scheme.

He said: “There could be some positive results from these socalled shooting galleries.

“It could be a much better way to manage people who are addicted to drugs.

“If they are getting prescription medication they are less likely to go out and commit crime to fund their addiction.”

Naimh Eastwood, from drug charity Release, says the scheme could make a big difference.

She said: “People begin taking drugs and then they take more and can’t afford it so they begin committing crime.

“We need to take these people away from the criminal cycle and away from drug dealers.”

The Brighton project provides 30 hardened heroin addicts with a place to collect and use prescribed injectable heroin and methadone or oral methadone.

It costs between £12,000 and £15,000 a year for each user.

Professor John Strang, head of the National Addiction Centre, led the national RIOTT project.

He said: “These are people with a juggernaut-sized heroin problem and I didn’t know if we could turn it around.

“It is intensive care for drug addicts, which is more expensive than standard treatment.

“But that is a third of the £44,000-a-year cost of sending them to prison.”