Drugs tsar Keith Hellawell was today meeting Sugar - an all-girl band who model themselves on the Spice Girls - during a visit to schools in Brighouse and Rastrick to see anti-drugs projects.

After a meeting with project workers, the former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire popped in at Rastrick High School to watch Sugar perform and see rehearsals for an eight-minute dance and music routine, which is being entered in the Global Rock Challenge - a competition for schools across West Yorkshire.

The final is at the Grand Theatre in Leeds next Friday.

Mr Hellawell, whose official title is UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, then dropped in at St Andrew's Junior School in Brighouse to hear about two projects aimed at children and parents.

It was then off to Brighouse High School to watch GSCE students perform a play and workshop called Pied Piper, designed to help youngsters steer clear of drugs, smoking and drink by showing them how to make the right personal choices.

More than 40 children, aged 14 and 15, who were involved in the project staged the drama and workshop in feeder primary schools last term.

Mr Hellawell then headed off to meet youngsters at a "youth cafe" in Burnsall Road, Rastrick, on the same site as Field Lane Primary School.

The cafe - aimed at children aged ten to 14 and open on Thursday and Friday evenings - is run like a drop-in centre where children can take part in various anti-drugs activities.

After this Mr Hellawell, whose trip is part of a nationwide fact-finding tour, paid a visit to Field Lane School to see a display of posters by the pupils on healthy living. All the projects in the schools are part of the national Drug Prevention Initiative, started in 1990.

This involves small teams of drugs experts working with local communities to find effective ways of deterring young people from taking drugs, smoking and drinking.

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