A Sidcup man who tragically lost his twin brother to drug addiction is now looking to help others using his own unique methods.

From a young age, Chris Hill, 46, and his brother Rob had been dabbling with addictive substances with both boys taking up smoking cigarettes when they were just seven years old.

Smoking cigarettes led to smoking weed and getting drunk at 11, then taking speed and LSD at 14, before cocaine and ecstasy became a part of their lives at 16.

"I tried smoking, drugs and alcohol and enjoyed them and wanted to do more of them.

Mr Hill said: "Once I tried something, it opened up opportunities to try other substances and at a young age you feel social pressures to join in if your friends are doing it too. We often got drunk at just 11 years old."

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Both twins ended up forming life-altering addictions to drugs and alcohol and although seeking help from numerous doctors and rehab programmes, nothing seemed to work for them.

"When I first decided to get help for my addictions it wasn’t easy.

"As a man you feel like you have to be strong, get on with it, keep your chin up, as no one wants to be judged or seen as being weak," he said.

Chris pictured with his brother Rob who tragically lost his life four years ago

However, after close to 100 attempts to shake off his habits, Mr Hill claims he found freedom through his own methods of self-therapy.

"Nothing was working and I knew I had to take things into my own hands and take back control from the drugs.

"I sat down and thought about the problem and how I felt when my addiction struck. I realised that there is a separation between my conscious self and the mind and the body that is craving the hit.

"Once I realised this, I was able to open up a dialogue between my conscious and subconscious self and that’s where the change began," he explained.

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Unfortunately, as one brother began to recover, the other tragically slipped back into addiction.

Following a reunion event in Sidcup four years ago, Rob Hill tragically passed after taking ecstasy which shut down his internal organs.

After losing his twin, Mr Hill channelled his grief into a new life purpose and is now the resident addiction expert at Carbon Retreat in Essex, the UK's first addiction retreat for recovering addicts.

"Seeing people become free from addiction is the best feeling.

"Witnessing relationships blossom, kids return to parents, people finding purpose again is the most rewarding part of what I do," he said.

Carbon Retreat offers workshops with Mr Hill to help people overcome addictions including social media, alcohol, smoking, overeating, sugar or caffeine.