NEWLY-elected Leominster mayor Peter Jones, ex-United Nations peacekeeping chief in former Yugoslavia, says Britain is losing the war on drugs and drug-related crime.

He is calling on society to look at 'all options' - including the legalisation of banned substances - to undermine drug barons who are paid by the proceeds of crime.

"I would rather that addicts went to Boots and got drugs on prescription rather than go around knocking people on the head to get money to pay the dealers," said Brigadier Jones.

"At the moment our towns are very fertile ground for criminals - we are allowing criminals to feed the market."

He believes Leominster is no worse than many other towns but is saddened that drug-related crime is an undeniable fact of local life.

He is seeking a meeting with senior police officers to discuss the issue and hopes Herefordshire will call on national policy makers to take radical steps.

"There are no easy answers on drugs," said Brigadier Jones, "What we do know is that the present policy is a failure.

"Total banning has not worked and we should take a look and see if there are other ways of solving the problem.

"At the moment we lack a coherent national policy on drugs."

A Conservative member of the county council, Brigadier Jones says leading politicians must have more courage to engage in open discussion on the thorny issue rather than indulge in 'pompous pontificating' on the evils of drugs.