THOUSANDS of Glasgow families are being "torn apart" by drugs, according to a charity which deals with the fallout from substance abuse.

Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAAD) estimates four or five people are directly affected by every addict.

And with around 59,000 problem drug users registered in Scotland, more than a quarter of a million people who know them are left to pick up the pieces.

Christine Duncan, who heads SFAAD, said: "The Scottish Govern-ment's figure of 59,000 only reflects those who we know about through services.

"There are people out there who are probably not registered or engaged with services and they are on their own. I've no idea how many. It's hard to say.

"Any kind of addic-tion or dependency can tear a family apart.

"The user has their own issues to deal with but there's usually four or five people directly impacted by that. You are talking about potentially 250,000 or 300,000 people directly impacted by someone's chaotic drug use."

SFAAD set up a help-line used by "hundreds of people every month", according to the char-ity's chief executive Christine Duncan.

She said: "We get people calling in to report things like they have to pay off a drug dealer personally. It's quite frightening.

"A lot of the people who call in are older.

"They are dealing with people who have a 20-year history of drug abuse. Maybe it's an adult son or daughter.

"We have had several cases where pension books and jewellery have been stolen.

"We have people calling who are just trying to process what has happened to them as a result of having a loved one - a father, son, daughter, a sister - who is misusing drugs."