Drugs education projects in Oxfordshire are to get a 50 per cent boost in funding next year.

The Government has increased the county's drug education budget from £96,000 this year to £151,060 next year.

The cash will go towards training teachers, making sure all schools have access to a local drugs adviser and that pupils at risk get support in and out of school.

It will also provide training on drug issues for advisers from Connexions, a Government advice service set up this year .

An extra £7m is being pumped into drugs education nationally this year, 8m next year and 10m the year after.

Targets have been laid down for all secondary schools and 80 per cent of primary schools in the country to have drugs prevention plans as part of a national anti-drugs strategy.

Bill Holman, Oxfordshire's drugs action team co-ordinator, said: "We have been set targets to cut the number of drugs-related exclusions from school, support young people on drugs, delay the average age of the first use of class A drugs by six months, and reduce the reported number of people under 25 using drugs.

"We are doing reasonably well in meeting our targets the vast majority of secondary schools have drugs policies."