Drug-related deaths in Canterbury have almost doubled in three years, according to new figures.

The alarming news coincides with the first anniversary of the deaths of three young musicians from Canterbury who died after taking the opiate fentanyl.

James Truscott, 25, was found dead at a house in Tudor Road, Wincheap, on August 24 last year.

Just five days later, friends Maximum Martin, 35, and Joshua Lambert-Price, 22, were also found dead at the same property.

Post mortem examinations revealed all three of the men – well-known on the Canterbury busking scene – had high levels of fentanyl in their blood.

The painkiller, also known as China White, is said to be 16 times more powerful than morphine.

But drug poisoning fatalities are on the rise in the city, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

Between 2015 and 2017, 44 such deaths were registered in Canterbury – 27 of them men and 17 women.

This is almost twice as high as the previous three-year period, when 23 people died as a result of drug-related causes.

The jump reflects a national increase in such fatalities.

Across England and Wales, 3,756 deaths involving both legal and illegal drugs were recorded last year – a small increase on the 2016 figure, yet the highest total since comparable records began in 1993.

Information on the type of drugs believed to be a factor in deaths in Canterbury has not been released.

But figures for the whole of England and Wales show that heroine and morphine were the most common in such fatalities, and were registered in 1,164 deaths in 2017.

Anti-depressants, which were a factor in 484 deaths, were the next biggest killer. There were also 432 cocaine-related deaths – almost four times the level in 2011.

ONS health analysis statistician Ellie Osborn said: "Despite deaths from most opiates declining or remaining steady, deaths from fentanyl continued to rise, as did cocaine deaths, which increased for the sixth consecutive year."

Charities have warned that drug abusers need better care to help deal with underlying health conditions.

Karen Tyrell, executive director of alcohol and drug charity Addaction, said: "The truth is that most drug-related deaths are preventable.

"People who use opioids often have cumulative physical and mental health problems.

"Most of them have had very difficult, often traumatic lives and we're letting them down if we don't give them the best care that we can.

"Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides to become dependent on drugs.

"Everyone deserves help, and we know that every person can recover with the right support."