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Craig sits on the edge of his chair, his hands shaking as he looks blankly at the church wall.

He’s fighting a withdrawal from crack and alcohol that rattles through his body.

His eyes are empty, but you can sense the turmoil he’s fighting.

Some 20 years of addiction has left him teetering on the edge of life and death – and he knows it all too well.

“I’ve been told by a few doctors, if you don’t stop you will be dead soon. Your body can’t take much more of this.”

Drug addiction still - Craig
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Craig’s been an addict for 20 years

More and more people are dying and Craig’s lost friends along the way.

Since 2012, drug deaths in England and Wales have almost doubled, rising from 2,597 to 4,859 deaths in 2021 according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

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Drug deaths graphics - source ONS

Craig’s enveloped by his yellow hoodie which only emphasises the yellow tinge of sickness in his skin.

He’s swallowed up by the luminous fabric, he seems so small, but this is the heaviest he’s been in a long time – 15 days sober and he’s put on a stone in weight.

He went cold turkey to get accepted into a rehabilitation centre.

Spots are few and far between and local authorities often ask addicts to show they’re willing to “do the work” by getting sober, or at least significantly reducing their intake, before they get approved for rehab funding.

Over the last 10 years councils have cut funding by half in real terms according to analysis shared with Sky News from UK Addiction Treatment Centres, the UK’s largest supplier of rehabilitation services.

In 2013, 31% of the public health grant (£828m) was spent on drug and alcohol addiction services, but that’s dropped to 16% (£608m).

Public health grant pie chart

And when looking at drug addiction treatment services alone, funding has dropped by a third in a decade – that’s before considering the effects of inflation.

In 2013, £569m was spent on drug addiction support services; in 2023 that funding is forecast at £379m despite the need for life saving treatment being more urgent than ever.

Detox or die

Detoxing on your own can kill you but for Craig the risk is worth it.

A spot in rehab is his golden ticket to a new life, a ticket that will whisk him away from the monster that’s always on his heels.

“You’re not supposed to do it, just stop, because you can die. I were really, really ill for four days.

“I was vomiting blood and shaking uncontrollably.”

A tear rises up to his eyes, but he swallows it back down. He says he’s just been through some of the worst days of his life and the pain is palpable.

Addicts like Craig can sign up to a medical detox before rehab, but the waiting list can be months long, and once you’re clean you join the queue for rehab which can take another six months – time Craig said he doesn’t have.

“It’ll only be a matter of time before I start drinking and doing drugs again.

“Something could just trigger me and then, I’m stubborn, I’ll just go and get a can or a bottle and the spiral starts again.

“I’ve been stealing from supermarkets, it’s got that bad.”

Craig knows he’s just weeks away from getting help, but no one, including himself, knows if he’ll get there.

He’s been here before, about to get in and then back to square one all because he relapsed.

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Who’s responsible for the cuts?

There are thousands of people like Craig waiting for help and support workers say addiction treatment services are more stretched than ever.

The Local Government Association acknowledged “the enormous funding pressures that vital addiction services are under” but it said this is “due to cuts in funding by central government”.

In July 2021, Dame Carol Black’s report into drug treatment services said the system is “not fit for purpose” and that cuts had left services “on their knees”.

Largest cuts bar chart

In response, the Department for Health and Social Care published its long-term drug strategy in December 2021 which pledged to spend £538m on improving addiction treatment services by the end of 2025.

So far £103m of that fund has been rolled out in April this year.

But services say it’s too little too late.

Julie Rigby, Senior Support worker at Oasis Recovery Runcorn said: “We’re seeing a general decline in funded places for people that are coming in from the local authority. Over the last few years it’s decreased by at least 50%.

“People with drug and alcohol misuse issues that are in the community are desperate, trying to get help, and they just can’t get funding to get through the door.

“People are dying to get into rehab.”

Families destroyed

Karen offered us tea as we sat down in her front room. She’s warm and welcoming but her smile can’t mask the grief hanging over her.

She told us the last year has stood still since she lost her son Kane to a heroin overdose.

Kane was fun-loving and empathetic, the type of guy that would give his last fiver to a homeless person, Karen and her son Adam said.

But Kane had suffered from an 18-year addiction to alcohol that started when he was 16 years old.

“It’s heartbreaking to see somebody you love just ruining their lives, he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t stop himself.

“He would say to me, ‘I need to go into rehab mum, I need help’.

“If he had got the help he needed, I think he could still be here today. And I think he was failed.”

Karen Johnson holding photo of Kane
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Karen Johnson lost her son Kane to a heroin overdose

In Wiltshire, where Kane lived, the local authority cut funding for addiction treatment services by £2.6m over a decade – the fifth largest cut across the country.

Kane’s brother Adam told Sky News he had been crying out for help but that the life-threatening severity of his addiction had been ignored.

“When he did try to get help he would go to the GP drunk to make sure they knew how bad it was.

“He was totally honest with them, he was up front and clearly needed help.”

Kane’s family hope fresh government funding over the next two years will mean cries for help won’t go ignored and families across the country won’t be torn apart like theirs.

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Ozzy Osbourne dies just weeks after farewell show

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Ozzy Osbourne dies just weeks after farewell show

Heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne has died aged 76, just weeks after reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates and performing a huge farewell concert for fans.

In a statement, his family said: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.”

Ozzy Osbourne with his wife Sharon and two of their children Kelly and Jack in September 2015. Pic: AP
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Ozzy Osbourne with his wife Sharon and two of their children Kelly and Jack in 2015. Pic: AP

Latest: Tributes paid to Ozzy Osbourne

As he performed from a throne on stage at Villa Park less than three weeks ago, Osbourne told 42,000 fans: “You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

It was a gig put together with performances from some of his favourite acts, including Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, for the star’s “final bow”.

Osbourne and his fellow original Black Sabbath members – Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward – reunited for the first time in 20 years and were the last to appear on stage for the Back To The Beginning concert on 5 July.

Following his death, Metallica posted a photo on X of the band with Osbourne, along with a broken heart emoji.

Ronnie Wood, of The Rolling Stones, wrote: “I am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham.”

Black Sabbath’s account on X posted a photo of Osbourne from the gig with the caption: “Ozzy Forever!”

And Ali Campbell, singer with Birmingham band UB40, wrote: “Rest In Peace Ozzy. The Prince of Darkness. A true Birmingham legend. The undisputed king of heavy metal. You didn’t just shape a culture, you defined it. You led from the front and never looked back. My thoughts are with Sharon and the entire Osbourne family during this time.”

Ozzy Osbourne in Los Angeles in December 1981. Pic: AP
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Ozzy Osbourne in Los Angeles in December 1981. Pic: AP

Sir Elton John described his “dear friend” as a “huge trailblazer” who “secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods”.

“He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” the singer also wrote on Instagram.

Born John Michael Osbourne on 3 December 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, he became known as the godfather of heavy metal.

The self-styled Prince of Darkness pioneered the music genre with Black Sabbath before going on to have huge success in his own right. He was famous for hits including Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, Crazy Train and Changes, both with the band and as a solo star.

Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album in 1970 made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of tracks.

(L-R) Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath pose with their award for Best Metal Performance at the 2014 Grammys
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(L-R) Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath pose with their award for best metal performance at the 2014 Grammys. Pic: Reuters

They went on to become one of the most influential and successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide.

The singer also found a different kind of fame thanks to noughties MTV reality show The Osbournes, which followed the Birmingham-raised star’s somewhat chaotic life in Los Angeles with wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack.

And he was also known for the famous anecdotes of hellraising during his rock star heyday – most infamously, the tale of how he bit the head off a bat while on stage.

Black Sabbath fired Osbourne in 1979 for his legendary excesses, like showing up late for rehearsals and missing gigs.

“We knew we didn’t really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation,” wrote bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler in his memoir Into The Void.

Osbourne re-emerged the next year as a solo artist with his album Blizzard of Ozz. In 1981, he released his second album Diary Of A Madman – both were hard rock classics that went multiplatinum.

Ozzy Osbourne (second from right) with The Blizzard Of Ozz bandmates Rudy Sarzo, Randy Rhoads and Tommy Aldridge in 1981
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Ozzy Osbourne (second from right) with Rudy Sarzo, Randy Rhoads and Tommy Aldridge who played on his Blizzard Of Ozz Tour. Pic: AP

He had Parkinson’s disease and had suffered other health problems in recent years, including complications from injuries sustained in a fall in 2019.

After being forced to cancel tour shows, he made a one-off surprise appearance on stage in Birmingham to close the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The Villa Park gig was announced earlier this year by Sharon, who said he was determined to give fans the “perfect farewell”.

Ozzy wore a shiny black jacket and a gold armband bearing his name. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Ozzy Osbourne performed his farewell concert at Villa Park earlier in July. Pic: Ross Halfin

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During his career, Osbourne was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – twice for both, with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.

He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – as well as in Birmingham’s Broad Street – an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations.

Plus, he received other honours such as the NME’s Godlike Genius award, and Classic Rock’s Living Legend prize, over the years.

Osbourne leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, and grandchildren.

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Ozzy Osbourne obituary: Heavy metal, reality TV, and biting bats – the wild life of Birmingham’s Prince Of Darkness

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Ozzy Osbourne obituary: Heavy metal, reality TV, and biting bats – the wild life of Birmingham's Prince Of Darkness

“You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,” an emotional Ozzy Osbourne told fans as he performed from a throne on stage at his beloved Villa Park, reunited with Black Sabbath, less than three weeks ago.

It was an exit on his own terms by heavy metal’s biggest character, with a supporting line-up of hard rock luminaries including Slayer, Metallica and Guns’n’Roses, all inspired by his music.

With Black Sabbath, Osbourne was at the forefront of heavy metal. As Ozzy, he was one of the biggest rock stars in the world. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Back To The Beginning in his home city, where 40,000 fans gathered to see the show billed as his “final bow”.

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Ozzy’s final show

“Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica,” frontman James Hetfield told the crowd in Birmingham.

It was a sentiment echoed by many of the other acts who performed on stage. Announced by his wife Sharon earlier this year, the show was a chance for the performer to reunite with Black Sabbath and say thank you and farewell to fans after years of health problems, including Parkinson’s disease, which had forced him to cancel recent tour shows.

Other celebrities, from Sir Elton John to Dolly Parton, sent video messages of support. Fans knew it would be his last performance, but could not have known his death, at the age of 76, would come so soon.

It was a truly metal goodbye.

Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
BLACK SABBATH, Ozzy Osbourne (back centre), c 1970s
VARIOUS POP
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Black Sabbath in the 1970s. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

‘I think there’s a wild man in everybody’

John Michael Osbourne was born in Solihull in December 1948 and grew up in the Aston area of the West Midlands city.

As a teenager, he was bullied at school. Drink and drugs later became a way to escape his fears, he said in interviews, and after leaving school at 15, he worked several jobs, including labouring and in an abattoir.

It was hearing The Beatles, he said, that made him want to be a musician.

“I think there’s a wild man in everybody,” he says in a resurfaced interview clip. “Ozzy Osbourne and John Osbourne is two different people. John Osbourne is talking to you now.” His eyes widen a little manically, he grins, the voice cranks up. “But if you want to be Ozzy Osbourne, it’s like… it just takes over you.”

(L-R) Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath pose with their award for Best Metal Performance at the 2014 Grammys
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(L-R) Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath at the Grammys in 2014

In 1967, he was recruited to the band that two years later would become Black Sabbath, inspired by a film of the same title. This was a line-up of four working-class schoolfriends – Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, alongside Ozzy – who twisted heavy blues into something darker, creating a sound and otherworldly image that felt new, exciting and rebellious.

A self-titled debut album was released in 1970 and made the Top 10 in the UK. The follow-up, Paranoid, released just seven months later, topped the charts after the single of the same name became their big breakthrough. The album also included the unforgettable Iron Man and the anti-war protest song War Pigs – its unmistakeable riff inspiring the Arctic Monkeys’ 2014 single, Arabella.

Black Sabbath went on to release six more albums with Osbourne at the helm before he was fired in 1979 due to his drinking and substance use, something he claimed was no better or worse than other members at the time.

Ozzy Osbourne in 1978. Pic: Andrew Kent/Retna/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
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Osbourne in 1978. Pic: Andrew Kent/Retna/Mediapunch/Shutterstock

In 1980, he returned with his debut solo album, Blizzard Of Oz, and the lead single Crazy Train. As a solo artist, he went on to release 13 studio albums – the last being Patient Number 9, in 2022 – and had hits with songs including Mr Crowley, Diary Of A Madman, No More Tears, Bark At The Moon and Shot In The Dark.

His first UK number one was a re-recording of the Black Sabbath ballad Changes, as a duet with his daughter, Kelly, in 2003, and his collaborations over the years included everyone from Alice Cooper (Hey Stoopid in 1991) and Post Malone (Take What You Want in 2019) to, in a somewhat unusual move, Hollywood star Kim Basinger for a re-recording of the dance hit Shake Your Head by Was (Not Was) in 1992.

With Black Sabbath and as a solo star, he is estimated to have sold 100 million records throughout his career – for context, this is reportedly on a par with Sir Paul McCartney’s solo sales – so the numbers speak for themselves.

Kelly Osbourne, from left, Ozzy Osbourne, and Sharon Osbourne in 2020. Pic: AP
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With daughter Kelly Osbourne and wife Sharon in 2020. Pic: AP

Biting the bat

Osbourne was also a huge personality and played up to his hellraising image – the Prince of Darkness.

The most famous Ozzy story goes like this.

The singer was on stage in Des Moines, Iowa, 1982, when the bat appeared. He assumed it was a toy. So, like any good hellraiser would do, he bit its head off.

Pic: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
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Pic: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

For more than 40 years, he found himself jokily fielding questions about bats. What do they taste like? (Salty). What happened afterwards? (Headline news, painful rabies shots). Do you have any pets? (Yes. They’re all dead).
“I get a lot of weird people at my concerts,” he told David Letterman in 1982, of how the animal came to appear in front of him. “It’s rock ‘n’ roll, y’know”.

He was sometimes irritated by the bat connection. But he also played up to the image, recounting the story in interviews, offering plush bat toys among his merch, and appearing as himself, biting a bat, in the 2000 Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky, about the son of Satan.

Known for catapulting raw meat at fans during gigs, there were plenty of other tales of darkness and debauchery. Osbourne’s wild persona and on-stage theatrics always went hand-in-hand with the music.

From Prince of Darkness to reality TV

He was famously managed by his wife, Sharon, whom he first met when her dad, Don Arden, was managing Black Sabbath. As well as the music, Sharon and Ozzy together founded the Ozzfest festival tours in 1996 – and in 2002 came his second act.

It’s hard to imagine it now, but before the perfectly coiffed Kardashians it was a scruffy 50-something rocker from Birmingham and his family who ruled the Hollywood reality TV scene. As with his music, he was a pioneer – this time round of a new era of addictive viewing.

The Osbournes followed the lives of Ozzy and Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack (their eldest daughter, Aimee, famously had nothing to do with the show), and the family fallouts and sunny California culture clash proved to be a ratings winner. The MTV series catapulted the metal star to global mainstream celebrity heights.

His marriage to Sharon was tumultuous but the pair always stayed together, and they renewed their wedding vows in 2017. Sharon was the driving force behind Ozzy’s successes, to him eventually getting clean, and behind his farewell show.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Metallica frontman James Hetfield was among those who paid tribute at his final gig earlier in July. Pic: Ross Halfin

Despite weathering the storm of drink and drug use, Osbourne’s air of indestructibility was challenged when a quad bike accident left him with a broken collar bone and ribs, as well as short-term memory loss, in 2003.

The 2020 documentary Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne, had summed up with its title the performer’s seeming ability to defy the odds. However, the health problems started to mount up. Scheduled tours were postponed, and in 2023 he told fans holding on to tickets that he had come to the realisation he was “not physically capable” of dealing with life on the road.

But there was one gig he couldn’t miss – a surprise appearance to close the Commonwealth Games in his home city in 2022, just weeks after undergoing surgery.

Now, fans will remember the shows they did get to see, the music that ushered in a new genre – and especially his most recent gig, which was said to have raised around £140m for charities. Just a few days afterwards, his new memoir, Last Rites, was announced. It will be released in October.

Ozzy Osbourne's star as he is inducted into the 'Birmingham Walk of Stars' on Broad Street in central Birmingham.
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Ozzy Osbourne’s star on the ‘Birmingham Walk of Stars’

During his career, Osbourne was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – twice for both, with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist. “Countless artists from many genres have credited Ozzy as a major influence, including Metallica, Lita Ford, Rage Against The Machine, and Busta Rhymes,” reads his US citation. “With his longevity, impact, and iconic persona, Ozzy Osbourne is a phenomenon unlike any other.”

He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – as well as in Birmingham’s Broad Street – an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations.

But other honours, such as the NME’s Godlike Genius award, and Classic Rock’s Living Legend, also give a sense of how much his personality played a part in why he is so beloved by fans and critics alike. In the Nine Lives documentary, daughter Kelly describes him as “the most irresistible mad man you will ever meet in your life”.

Osbourne’s was an unlikely journey from Birmingham to LA. He was a working-class hero of heavy metal, a reality TV favourite – forever the Prince of Darkness.

“People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything?” he once said. “I’m like, f*** no… If I’d done normal, sensible things, I wouldn’t be Ozzy.”

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Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones announces defection to Reform UK

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Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones announces defection to Reform UK

Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones has joined Reform UK, the party has announced.

The announcement of the party’s first member of the Senedd was made on Tuesday at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells, Powys.

The annual event is Europe’s largest agricultural show and attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Laura Anne Jones was initially a member of the Senedd for the South Wales East region between 2003 and 2007, before returning in 2020.

She is the second high-profile defection from the Conservative party, after former cabinet minister David Jones joined the party earlier this month.

Reform press conference
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(L-R) Nigel Farage, David Jones and Laura Anne Jones at the news conference

Reform leader Nigel Farage said the latest defection was a “big step forward for Reform UK in Wales”.

Speaking at the news conference, Ms Jones said she had been a member of the Conservative party for for 31 years but that the party was now “unrecognisable to [her]”.

She said the Conservative Party “wasn’t the party that [she] joined over three decades ago” and that she could “no longer justify” party policy on the doorstep.

Ms Jones said Wales was “a complete mess” and that she now wanted to be “part of the solution not the problem”.

Reform is still without a leader in Wales, but Ms Jones did not rule herself out of the running for that position.

The defection comes with less than a year to go until the Senedd election, when voters in Wales will elect 96 members to the Welsh parliament for the first time – an increase of more than 50%.

Recent opinion polls have shown Reform UK and Plaid Cymru vying for pole position, with Labour in third and the Conservatives in fourth.

Ms Jones said she had not notified the Conservative Party of her defection before the announcement.

The party’s Senedd leader Darren Millar said he was “disappointed” with the announcement and that Conservative members and voters would feel “very let down by her announcement”.

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