text: A heartbroken father told yesterday how his daughter had been given hard drugs by dealers targeting schools. In an emotional open letter, he told how the ‘bright and beautiful’ GCSE pupil started using a cocktail of banned substances including cocaine, ecstasy, methadone and ‘party drug’ meow meow. The father – identified only as John to protect his family’s privacy – warned that Class A drugs were widely available to children, and urged schools and police to get tough. He said dealers made the drugs ‘incredibly cheap and available’ to hook their young customers. A father has revealed that his teenage daughter became hooked on cocaine and ecstasy after buying the drugs in the school playground (file pic posed by a model) His daughter was given them for free or paid only a few pounds for pills, sometimes without knowing what she was taking. She had not only put her health in danger but risked sexual abuse by meeting up with men she did not know. The father has sent the open letter to his local council, South Gloucestershire, pleading for action to combat a ‘serious drug problem’. The man described himself as a single parent to a son and daughter – referred to as Jack and Jill – who both went to a local secondary. ‘Two weeks ago I discovered that Jill had been taking Class A drugs for three to four months,’ he said. ‘How dumb am I not to know? But do you know the signs as a parent?’ The father said he had initially dismissed changes in his daughter’s behaviour as ‘teenage moodiness’. He has now written an open letter (above) to his local authority, South Gloucestershire, begging them to take the issue more seriously asking if a young person has to die before the problem is addressed . But he told the Bristol Post: ‘She came to me and said she had got caught up with a group and started taking cocaine and ecstasy. ‘I had noticed she had been a bit off but I thought it was a teenage daughter rebelling against her dad … it just didn’t occur to me and I felt naïve and stupid.’ Horrified by his daughter’s revelations, the father said he went to her school and police but officers were ‘aggressive and threatening’ when his daughter volunteered information, including the names of alleged dealers. He accused authorities of ‘pretending a problem doesn’t exist’ and warned the situation would get worse if it was not tackled, adding: ‘Does a young person here have to die?’ The father said his own investigations had found evidence that illicit drugs were available inside schools and youth clubs. The father, only known as John, has called on South Gloucestershire Council to do more to tackle drug dealing in its schools . He told how he had limited his daughter’s use of her mobile phone and social media, apparently to stop her falling back into drug use. He said he hoped she had stopped before she became hooked. The father said his relationship with his daughter had hit ‘rock bottom’ over his attempts to protect her from lapsing back into drug abuse, saying: ‘She hates me now.’ But, in the absence of help from authorities, he said he now believed it was up to parents to try to ‘take control’ to help their children. The despairing father said he could not offer a ‘simple answer’ but said the problem of drug use would only get worse if it was ignored. South Gloucestershire council refused to comment and said it was a matter for police. Inspector Adrian Fallows, a neighbourhood police manager for South Gloucestershire, said: ‘We are working with schools to educate young people about drugs and also to deal firmly with any drugs issues that may arise. ‘The supply, production and use of drugs in our communities, and the acquisitive crimes associated with drugs, is a serious matter. ‘We will do whatever we can to protect young people by disrupting the system and bringing to justice anyone dealing drugs and profiting from crime.’
target: Father, only known as John, noticed his daughter was acting strangely .
  Confronted her and she confessed taking cocaine, ecstasy and MCAT .
  Told him drugs were available to buy at school, parks and youth groups .
  Father is now calling on local authority to take the issue more seriously .