Police and drug teams concerned over spate of heroin-related deaths in Exeter

Police and drug teams concerned over spate of heroin-related deaths in Exeter

CONCERN has been raised over a recent spate of heroin-related deaths in Exeter.

Police and drug service teams have warned of the deadly dangers of the drug as the Echo can reveal there have been three recent deaths in the city due to suspected heroin use and five so far this year.

Families of victims have issued calls for society to wake up to the issue amid hopes that lessons can be learned to stop others suffering a similar tragedy.

Suzanne Riddock, who lost the father of her child Lee Barry recently at the age of 39 after he spent years trying to get help to beat his heroin addiction, led the calls and said he had always been "ashamed of his addiction."

He battled for 14 years to beat it and, although the family is still awaiting toxicology reports to confirm the cause of death, Ms Riddock, 37, said without professional help he was never able to beat his habit.

She said: "Society needs to wake up to the issue. Lee wasn't just a drug addict, he was a father, my partner, a son, a brother and an uncle. He was always clean and tidy and was very ashamed of his addiction.

If these awful losses make any difference to saving lives in future these young men and women wouldn't have died for nothing."

She said that over a six year period she tried desperately to get help for Lee, from Exeter, but claims he was never medically tested.

She said: "He loved his stepson and our son Tyler but without professional help couldn't beat his addiction."

She said in 2008 he tried to get clean during a short prison sentence, but was offered no professional help on his release from jail.

She said he found the right medication, a heroin blocker naltrexon, but could not afford it at a cost of £6 per tablet once he became unemployed, and was left on a waiting list.

Ms Riddock also expressed fears that Lee may have been a victim of a bad batch of heroin that has been linked to several recent deaths in London and Glasgow. She said that when he died there was no drug paraphanalia found around his body but a bag of heroin was found in a drawer.

A woman in her 20s from Wonford died of a suspected heroin overdose this month.

Lee died at the end of April and another man died in May. Two more men died from suspected heroin overdoses at the beginning of the year. All the deaths were in the Exeter area.

Ms Riddock's calls for more help were endorsed by Mike Alsford, whose son Ben, 33, died in 2006 from conditions linked to his heroin addiction.

Mr Alsford, said that Ben, who lived in Countess Wear, had been an addict for 12 years but had gone into the Cedars Unit in the city in 2006 in a "positive mood about kicking his habit. But he was evicted just days later when he became abusive towards staff and was sent home by the hospital, he died a few days later.

At his inquest Mr Alsford said he was pleased that some changes had been put in place as a result of his son's death but said the recent cases show there is still a lot of work to be done to help addicts. "I am sure there is a long way to go but what was said at the inquest was a start and hopefully will keep it going. "I think one of the problems is the view that all addicts are junkie burglars, he said.

"People don't always view them as being ill and in need help. The public perception is that it is not as much of an illness than we know it is, and it is very hard to recover from."

Kristian Tomblin, manager for the Devon Drugs and Alcohol Action Team said: "Heroin is a particularly dangerous drug as it is impossible to tell what it has been cut with. Examples range from rat poison to laundry detergent."

Sergeant Andy Nordqvist, neighbourhood team sergeant for Exeter, said: "Any death caused by illegal drugs or a controlled substance is a tragedy.

"The use of illegal substances, like heroin or cocaine, can have devastating effects on the individual's concerned, their families and the community.

"But drug abuse is not a problem isolated to Exeter, this is an issue across the country and Exeter has a fantastic network of drug and substance misuse organisations who offer help and support."