COCAINE use among children has doubled in a year as the fashionable drug of the middle classes extends its reach from the dinner party to the playground.

Hundreds of thousands of 11 to 15-year-olds are being offered the Class A drug, which is flooding into the country, according to government figures published yesterday.

An estimated total of 65,000 — one in 50 children aged 11-15 — said they had taken cocaine, which is known by euphemisms such as “zip” and “tickets” by youngsters who are increasingly experimenting with the drug.

Drug agencies explained the surge in cocaine use among pupils on its increasing availability in cities and towns throughout the country.

“We are talking about availability on the streets. Cocaine is the big one,” said Danny Kushlick of the anti-drug organisation Transform. He said that while cannabis use among youngsters was stable or falling, cocaine use was rising.

“It is more available and socially acceptable. Once cocaine use reached acceptability among the 20 and 30-year-olds, it was only a matter of time before it started to become fashionable among youngsters.”

Europe’s drug agency said last year that Britain was awash with cocaine and it is top of the European league for use of the drug.

Figures published yesterday showed that cocaine use among 11 to 15-year-olds doubled from 1 per cent to 2 per cent between 2004 and 2005. The official study questioned more than 9,000 pupils in 305 schools in England at the start of the autumn term last year. There are an estimated 3.2 million pupils aged 11-15. Based on the survey findings, an estimated 65,000 pupils took cocaine last year.

A total of 320,000 were offered the drug, including almost 100,000 15-year-olds and 35,000 11-year-olds.

Overall, 11 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds had taken an illegal drug in the month before they were questioned.

The study found that generally the prevalence of drug use among 11 to 15-year-olds remained broadly stable between 2004 and 2005 with the exception of use of cocaine and glue, gas and other solvents.

Police and customs officers are struggling to cope with the quantity of cocaine being smuggled into Britain. In 2004-05 almost 11 tonnes of the drug were seized in Britain against a target of 12.6 tonnes. A further 54 tonnes were seized en route to the UK.

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