Steroid use is as big as heroin addiction in parts of Sussex, it is claimed.

The alarming trend was laid bare this week after an inquest into the death of a bodybuilder.

Lewis Allan, 23, who suffered heart failure, was found to have died of natural causes but his death triggered an investigation into steroid-dealing in East Sussex.

An inquest on Thursday heard evidence from a health worker about the extent of steroid abuse in and around Eastbourne.

The East Sussex Coroner was told as many people visited needle exchanges in the area because they injected steroids as because of heroin addiction.

NHS East Sussex has launched a pilot scheme in Eastbourne to target people using “performance and image enhancing drugs” – which they call PIEDs.

A report by NHS East Sussex on needle and syringe programmes, which aim to prevent infection among injecting heroin addicts, said last year: “In East Sussex the number of PIED users registered with the local needle and syringe programmes has increased, with 50% of those registered accessing the service for sterile works to inject PIEDs.”

Mr Alan, 23, was taken ill at his home in Bridgemere Road, Eastbourne, at about 2am on Monday, October 10, last year.

He was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital but was pronounced dead an hour and a half later.

Police said at the time he had put on four stones in weight in the previous year as a result of training.

Scott Halliday, 34, who was arrested in the aftermath of Lewis’s death, appeared at Eastbourne Magistrates’ Court this week accused of possessing the class C drugs with intent to supply.

A spokesman for Sussex Partnership NHS Trust, which runs mental health services in the county, said: “The use of performance and image enhancing drugs (anabolic steroids) is recognised as a growing problem in East Sussex.

“We strongly urge people to consider the dangers of using illegal drugs. Advice and support can be gained by talking to your GP or local substance misuse service.”

Detective Sergeant Gavin Patch, of East Sussex CID, said issues of steroid dealing had not come to police attention before.

He said: “It has come to our knowledge because of the death of Lewis.

“The supply of steroids is illegal and if we are aware of it we will investigate.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Margaret Bannister, a cabinet member responsible for community support on Eastbourne Borough Council, said people in the town would be surprised at the emergence of the issue.

She said: “It is not something you hear about very often but if the NHS are becoming concerned about it and finding these problems then obviously it is becoming more prevalent.”

The Sussex Partnership spokesman urged people using drugs to used needle exchanges, saying: “Whilst we obviously do not condone the use of illegal drugs, we do encourage the use of sterile needles, so that the risk of passing on blood borne viruses can be significantly reduced.

“It is important for people who are injecting drugs to use clean equipment which can be accessed through needle exchange programmes across Sussex.