The UK's first ever licensed 'drug checking' service has opened in a seaside resort - and users can visit without fear of arrest.

The Home Office has granted the Weston-super-Mare in Somerset branch of charity Addaction permission to test drugs on its premises.

The service will be available to anyone over the age of 18 who gives consent and provides a sample of their substance.

Trained staff then run a test on site to determine the content of the drug.

The process takes about 10 minutes and the owner of the substance will be required to complete a short questionnaire so harm reduction advice can be tailored to their needs.

The first drop-in session was held yesterday (Wednesday, March 6), with another scheduled for March 15.

Roz Gittins, Addaction's director of pharmacy, said: "This is about saving lives.

"We know people take drugs. We don't have to condone it but nor should we judge people or bury our heads in the sand.

"It's our job to do whatever we can to help people make informed choices about the risks they're taking.

"Checking the content of drugs is a sensible and progressive way to do that.

"If people know what's in something, they can be better informed about the potential harm of taking it."

The pilot will be run in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire and The Loop, an award-winning drug safety testing service.

All partners involved in the pilot have agreed that they are not condoning the use of illegal drugs and samples are not returned to their owners.