Andy Cole will promote the anti-drugs message

Top figures from the world of sport including Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson and England striker Andy Cole have agreed to get involved in promoting the scheme.

The government is committed to channelling money into fighting drugs at a local level - "neighbourhood by neighbourhood" is how Mr Brown termed it in his Budget speech.

Among the likely initiatives to receive the funding are police operations that target specific drug problems such as Scotland Yard's current clamp down on crack cocaine houses in London.

Other schemes include mobile police stations in rural areas where there are drug problems and centres for education of former and recovering drugs abusers.

Crime targets

Earlier this year, drugs tsar Keith Hellawell announced that every council in the country would appoint its own anti-drugs chief to tackle local problems.

Reducing drug abuse is essential if the government is to achieve its targets on significantly cutting crime - the cost of crime carried out to fund drug habits is estimated as �2.5bn every year.

Home Office figures published in February showed that 12,250 suspected offenders are arrested every week who have taken heroin cocaine or crack in the previous 48 hours.

And an independent study estimated that half of criminals entering prison had a serious drugs problem.