STREETS AT ALL-TIME WORST AND PRISONS FULL OF USERS

TRACEY Stewart's partner died of an overdose on Christmas Day 2020 - but she fears the spread of deadly opiates will create many more victims.

- MARK McGIVERN

She cradled the body of her partner of 23 years and phoned 999, knowing he was dead, yet another victim of overdose in Kilmarnock. Toxicology results showed John Storrie had traces of methadone plus street drug etizolam and prescription drugs in his system.

Tracey said: "I think things now are worse than ever. People don't even know what they are getting but they take it anyway."

She counted aloud six names of local people, all of whom had died in recent weeks.

Tracey, drug-free for a year, said: "The big problem now is the drugs are definitely changing. People look at stuff being sold as heroin and it's way different. It doesn't look the same and it doesn't make them feel the same."