Educating parents and providing better facilities for youngsters were some of the suggestions made to tackle Bradford's drug problem at a conference held in the city.

The awareness day on Saturday highlighted ways in which communities can tackle the scourge of Drugs in the Little Horton, Marshfields and West Bowling areas being regenerated in a £50 million ten-year scheme.

Representatives from various Bradford organisations attended the conference at Dixon's City Technology College in Ripley Street to confront the problems caused by drug use and discuss the best ways for communities to take action.

Speakers from West Yorkshire Police, Ripple Drugs Project, Bradford City Primary Care Trust and the Drug and Alcohol Action Team led workshops to outline the services and support available to local communities living in drug- related areas.

Sergeant Colin Stansbie, the police area drugs co-ordinator, said the anonymous Crimestoppers 'Dob a Dealer' initiative was the most effective way of clamping down on street dealers.

Thirty-four arrests were made last year as a result of the scheme, but Sgt Stansbie said its success was reliant on communities passing information on to the police.

He said: "Crimestoppers is a safe and confidential way for people to report drug dealers without the fear of threats and intimidation. The line is completely anonymous and even we do not know who has made the calls. We just act on the information supplied."

Social issues of education, housing and unemployment were discussed in a workshop led by Diane Draper from Bradford's Drugs and Alcohol Action Team (DAT).

Ms Draper said it was important that public sector organisations shared information with each other in order to help drug users.

Working closely with the police, prison service, youth offending teams, the NHS and housing trusts, DAT recognises there are often social reasons why people use drugs, which it tries to address. It also sees early intervention, through education in schools, as being key.

Darrell Gregoire, co-ordinator of Trident, the organisation which is running the regeneration project under the Government's New Deal for Communities programme, said issues of health, crime, unemployment and education all had to be addressed in relation to drug use.

He said: "We want to encourage the people of this community and make them feel safe. By breaking down some barriers, we want them to be up-front about what is needed and make it a better place to live."