British beach resorts used to be glamorous destinations known for their nightlife and natural beauty.

But the decline of the British seaside holiday has seen the coastal communities plagued by heroin, new figures show.

Beach resorts are now notorious for poverty and deprivation - and some of them have become the sites for the highest rate of drug death in the country.

Their slide into poverty and drug abuse has been highlighted by the Office for National Statistics, which said six of the top 10 locations for heroin deaths are in coastal resorts.

Its statistics show that Blackpool has had the highest number of deaths relating to heroin or morphine misuse since 2010, a figure which has now risen to 14 per 100,000 people, almost double the figure for the second-most seriously affected area, Burnley.