John Hollingsworth's son died soon after his 21st birthday

He told party delegates on Thursday about the talk he had with John Hollingsworth about the lonely death of his 21-year-old heroin addict son.

Richard Hollingsworth, from Cwmbach, Aberdare in the south Wales Valleys, died in a toilet in Merthyr bus station last year.

Mr Blunkett told delegates at the last day of the Bournemouth conference that Richard had been a fun-loving young man with an interest in sport whose family did not realise there was anything wrong until he became hooked on drugs.

He was 19 when he really did get hooked on heroin John Hollingsworth on his son

"He died in squalor in a toilet in a bus station, without anyone near him to care for him and love him", said Mr Blunkett.

The Home Secretary said he wanted to get a grip on the organised criminals who killed young men and women.

Mr Hollingsworth commented: "I met David Blunkett who said he was very affected by Richard's story. He was very human. Richard was 21 when he died, he was 19 when he really did get hooked on heroin. He died just a few weeks after his birthday.

David Blunkett discusses drug problem with Welsh MPs

'Something wrong'

"We don't really know how it occurred. What I do know is I revived him on the previous day. We'd called the paramedics and they'd taken him over to the Prince Charles Hospital.

"He came round and got better again and that was fine. But there was something wrong. I had taken a while to find him, and I think there was a bit of brain damage there."

Mr Hollingsworth said his son had kept ringing his parents on the hour every hour all through the night, saying exactly the same things, and in the morning just walked out of the hospital.

Mr Hollingsworth said: "This is normal for most heroin addicts; they don't stay and unbeknown to anyone he had heroin on him in the hospital when he was being treated."

The home secretary told the conference he had been deeply moved by Mr Hollingsworth's words and admired his bravery is talking about the tragedy of losing his son.

He added that this made him more determined to get a grip on the organised criminals who killed young men and women.

Mr Blunkett has previously said that those convicted of drugs trading, the pushers, should be "fast-tracked" into prison.

But he has also made a distinction between the criminals and their victims and has pushed for more treatment for addicts instead of prison in order to wean them off drugs and the crimes they commit to fund their addiction.