With two new permanent homes in St Neots and Huntingdon, national charity Addaction have taken over the adult drug treatment service across the county.

The two new sites on Ferrars Road, Huntingdon, and the High Street, St Neots, are two of six service sites across Cambridgeshire.

A five-man outreach team will also be setting up extra "satellite sites" across the district.

These will be in places such as Ramsey or St Ives, depending on need, and can be located at a variety of service providers, such as GP surgeries or community centres.

Implementation manager for Addaction Anna Whitton said: "We recognise some service users won't be able to come into the office, such as people who don't have access to public transport.

"We recognise this is a rural community and we need to respond to the needs of the community as a whole. It's about looking where the needs are and how we can meet them."

Addaction has been taken on by a joint three-year initiative between Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust to treat the 400 Huntingdonshire residents who seek help for drug misuse each year.

The walk-in service provides assessments, prescriptions, harm reduction services - including needle exchange – complementary therapies, structured counselling support and day and group work programmes.

Tom Jefford, county council DAAT (Drug and Alcohol Action Team) manager, said: "There is a number of ways you can access the service, through your GP, by referral or just turn up.

"So if people are using illegal substances, they can do so without doing harm to themselves or others. The system is much more integrated."

>> To contact Addaction call 01480 413800 for the Huntingdon team and 01480 406823 for St Neots.