This is a place, it is said, where a bag of heroin can cost just £5. While is it far from alone in seeing a big rise in homelessness and drug addiction, it can be chilling even on a warm summer’s day to hear the tales of addiction in Britain’s not-so green and pleasant land. It is not hard to find evidence of drug use in the town centre, as tracksuit-wearing youths on bikes lurk in alleyways waiting for their phones to ring. Police officers are far less visible than the addicts and their suppliers. In 2018, the North-east saw the second-biggest rise in rough sleepers, with a 29 per cent increase, and Middlesbrough has borne the brunt of that because of its bargain rates for drugs. Depression Figures show that 30 in 1,000 residents use crack or opiates – four times the national average. But while the descent into homelessness is caught up in a tangle of addictions for many, this is not the case for 54-year-old Sean. His story serves as a warning to anyone who thinks they are immune from such disasters.

The father-of-two has been on the streets for three years after his marriage ended, plunging him into a deep depression that saw him lose his £47,000-a-year job as a joiner.

Having walked out of his family home with nothing, Sean spent his first night on the streets, unaware that it would quickly become his way of life.

He said: “I’m the odd one out in town because I don’t – and never have – done drugs. But it’s astonishing the level of addiction out there.

When I was living my nice, normal life, I had no idea of the extent. “It’s a thin line people are walking and if they knew how easy it could happen to them, they would be terrified.

“Everyone around me is addicted to the hard stuff, crack and heroin, but a massive issue nobody talks about is their addiction to prescription drugs such as rohypnol, ketamine and zolpidem. They get these free as an added bonus.”

Sean, who was born locally, told how he had seen big changes in recent years with lots of migrants moving into the town.

He added: “Everybody comes to Middlesbrough because the drugs are so cheap but it’s rubbish as there’s little or no heroin in it.

“Dealers from big cities such as Leeds and Newcastle are flooding Middlesbrough with all the stuff they can’t sell because the idiots here buy it and think it’s a great deal because it’s so cheap.

“I’ve been with people to have tests and there’s been no heroin in their system, even if they say they had a hit a couple of hours earlier.” Sean said that since he had become homeless, the only thing that had got easier was finding food.

“I’ve not slept for three years,” he said. “You lay down but it’s so terrifying, you don’t properly sleep – you daren’t. If you are lucky, you doze for a couple of hours.

“You feel constantly afraid,” he added. “I’ve had a knife held to my throat for 27p, I’ve been set on fire in my sleeping bag and I’m regularly beaten up. At first I didn’t know there were places you could go and get something to eat – I ended up eating leftovers out of bins – but gradually, you meet other people who tell you about things, such as foodbanks or somewhere you can go and wash.

“I can’t see any easy solution to the problem. Everything that is done just papers over the cracks and makes the situation worse.

“For example, Universal Credit. If you give someone £1,000 straight off, that will just go on a drugs binge.”

Michelle, a middle-aged crack addict, explained how shoplifting funds her habit.

Despite having more than 400 convictions, she has never been jailed. She explained how she steals then gives the bounty to her boyfriend to sell so they can score.

“I just love the hit I get,” she said. “There is nothing else quite like it – it’s all I live for. Every day is just about getting money to buy the drugs.

“Nothing else matters. Dealers are around every corner in this town and heroin is cheaper than a packet of fags.”

Another homeless person, Longshank, 46, has been on the streets for five years after a lengthy battle with drink spiralled out of control following the death of his wife. He now drinks at least two litres of cider every day.

He said: “I get wrecked just to get numb. I can’t face the music.” Longshank described his life as “horrendous” and told how last week somebody threw a bucket of urine over him.

Another 22-year-old told how he started using heroin aged 12. “It’s upsetting,” he said. “It breaks my heart I could do more with my life but there’s guaranteed to be a drug dealer within 100ft.”

Zoe Davis of North-east charity Addaction said: “Nobody has the answer to this problem but it’s about working in partnership in a holistic way to help people change their behaviours. “It’s not a rosy picture, but hope is not lost – services are there for users who are willing to walk through the door.”

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said extra officers would soon be joining the neighbourhood team to play a “key role in tackling issues alongside the Community Drugs Enforcement Team”.

She added: “Cleveland Police and Middlesbrough Council have a team of officers and street wardens working in the town centre, who focus on issues including begging, anti-social behaviour and drugs amongst other things.

“Since March, over £1.8million of cannabis has been recovered in the Middlesbrough area, showing that police are actively acting upon intelligence from the local community and targeting offenders. “We would always encourage the local community to call Crimestoppers regarding intelligence on drugs activity.”

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