REFORMED addicts from Blackburn are to take the starring role in a hard-hitting drama workshop aimed at stopping children taking drugs.

And if the production is a success, it could be rolled out across the country.

A 25-strong group from Blackburn-based charity project THOMAS (Those on the Margins of Society) will take turns to perform the fictional roles of drug addicts, criminals and prostitutes in productions to be performed at schools across the area.

Organisers hope the workshops, which form part of an exhibition called 'Voices from the Edge' and are based in part on the experiences of the group, will help keep children on the 'straight and narrow'. The exhibition will also include displays of people's lives, looking at the problems of homelessness and drug addiction.

Ex-addict Pete Woodhouse, 38, wrote the play and will take the part of self-confessed bad lad 'Jacko'. Pete, who was a drug user for 21 years, said: "The play is fictional in parts but there are also some true-life scenes such as people injecting and, in one part, one of the girls plays a prostitute, overdoses and dies.

"The difference for us performing in these plays is that at the end, the children will have the chance to questions us, not the characters. I am going to be very blunt about it and tell them about my mate who died last year from a perforated artery after taking drugs and others who have died from meningitis, septicaemia, HIV and Aids or even suicide, all of which have been drug-related.

"I want to put across the message that it is good and glamorous NOT to take drugs. By all means spike your hair, wear your studs and play your music. Express yourself through music or the arts and don't give in to peer pressure. Be yourself, be an individual."

Anthony Creighton, 32, is an ex-offender with 72 previous criminal convictions. He was addicted to drugs for 21 years before joining the project three months ago.

He said: "I have been given a lot of help by the project and I wanted to give something back. If, by taking part in the drama workshop, I can stop just one child from taking drugs then I will be happy."

Father Jim McCartney, from the THOMAS project, based at St Anne's House, France Street, said: "Many of the people who use the project are prolific offenders determined to change their lives and we are supporting them in doing that.

"We are in the process of contacting schools about the workshops which will be over several months and we hope to be able to look at other issues such as joy-riding and racism."