GAZETTE & HERALD: Jason King got into trouble as a teenager, taking drugs and drinking to escape small town boredom. Here he tells LILY CANTER of his search for a buzz, his life of crime and his fears for the friends whom he left behind.

Reformed drug addict Jason King, who led a life of drugs, alcohol and violence from an early age, is warning others to get out of Calne before it's too late.

Mr King, 33, who was named and shamed in the Gazette in 2002, is finishing a law degree at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. He is planning to take a Masters in drugs misuse so he can help others to escape the cycle of drugs and crime from which he broke free.

"I really feel and worry for the younger generation in Calne, especially my two school age brothers.

"It is only a small town and boring for a kid. I can see them following the road to doom and gloom as I did getting my kicks out of violence, underage drinking and class A drugs," he said.

A few years after his parents separated in the early eighties Mr King began using butane at school and drinking in Calne's Castle Park at weekends. Mr King has four younger brothers, Kevin King, 30, Chris King, 26, Dale Wood, 15, Grant Wood, 13 and two sisters Nicola King, 28, and Colleen Conway, 22.

His mother Susan King, of Woodroffe Square, Calne said her son was a nightmare as a teenager.

"Ever since he was a teenager he was a pain," she said. "I think he changed because his sisters were going on at him and wouldn't speak to him. He finally realised he had to do something about it."

In his early teens Mr King started hanging out with other youths in the town centre causing trouble and drinking.

"Me and a couple of others broke into a Calne newsagents stealing cigarettes. I think the only reason I did this was for a buzz, some excitement because I didn't smoke at the time," said Mr King.

In 1986 Mr King watched his closest friend die of a heart attack at the recreation ground in Calne. The tragedy happened just two weeks after Mr King's family escaped a house fire.

"Looking back I feel I should have had some form of counselling because after this I became even worse. By October that year I was up on a grievous bodily harm and affray charge.

"I had spent the whole day in the park sniffing solvents with friends. I can't remember much but I understand that we attacked a man over an incident with a young girl, he ended up in hospital and we went on a rampage.

"I woke up the next day in Chippenham police station wearing a paper suit. I was bailed but got into another fight and was remanded in custody. Eventually I was sentenced to nine months for each offence."

After his release Mr King started hanging around with a group called the Skullcrackers who travelled to nearby towns to start fights with rival gangs. He was using cannabis, LSD, speed and magic mushrooms on a regular basis.

In 1990 Mr King ended up in hospital after taking a drink and drug overdose while on epilepsy tablets.

"I spent three days in hospital and was told I may have liver damage when older. This should have been a warning sign but I thought I was indestructible."

Over the next few years Mr King was charged with several counts of affray and grievous bodily harm and was frequently in and out of court.

His mental state was so unstable by 1997 that he began plotting to kill his ex-girlfriend.

"If it wasn't for a very caring probation officer I believe I would be inside for murder," he said.

By this point Mr King had reached a real low and was introduced to heroin, which he saw as a simple way of escaping his life.

"This seemed like a brilliant drug at the time, it took away mental problems but without the side affects. But of course it is addictive and led me to shoplift, steal money from my family, commit fraud and even pawn my little brother's camcorder.

"I would do anything to get hold of cash, even steal my mum's cashpoint card when she was asleep, draw money out of her account and then put her card back."

In 1999 Mr King began to get a grip on his life and he enrolled at a local college and did his A-levels.

But in June 2000 he was busted in a police raid in Operation Bumblebee on the day of his English legal system exam. Later that year he moved up to the North West to do a law degree.

"At university my life was going well and I was meeting new people and socialising. The problem was that I would return to Calne in the summer months and fall back into my old lifestyle with heroin as my mistress."

In July 2002 Mr King's student accommodation was busted and he was arrested. He was charged and sentenced, receiving a 15-month custodial sentence. In April 2003 he was released on a tag and he returned to university.

"I have counselling sessions every week now along with a relapse prevention class. But the major problem in my life is living or spending time in Calne."

Mr King said he felt for the addicts he had left behind and wanted to warn them to get as far away as possible from the town.

"When I'm back in Wiltshire I see so many youngsters following my foot steps, the warning signs are there. Just walk around the town at the weekend and you see them drinking and, if you get close enough, the drugs are there."