Electrical engineer died after taking cocaine 'laced with anaesthetic'

Ashley Neil Whittle, 26, was found fitting in his bedroom by his mother after returning home from a night out on October 16 last year.

He was rushed to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley from his home in White City Road, Brierley Hill, after taking a drug which had been mixed with lignocaine, but it was too late and he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bonita Poole, coroner's officer, told Black Country Coroner's Court: "He was taken to Russells Hall Hospital after being found in his bedroom by his mum after a night out. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at around 3.15am.

"He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and had started going on nights out a bit more often.

"Cocaine and alcohol were found in his system from the toxicology reports."

His brother Aaron told the court that the electrical engineer had been a bit upset, but had never taken drugs on another occasion as far as he was aware.

He said: "He was a jolly person, very funny. He would do anything for you, he was just my brother, he did the job. We were very close.

"I was asleep, I didn't know what had happened. He seemed a little bit upset but he was just getting on with it, like we all do.

"He was just going out and having a good time. He had gone to the pub on the Thursday with his friend, they normally had a Thursday meet up.

"He hadn't taken drugs before that I know of. "

Zafar Siddique, senior coroner for the Black Country, said: "Ash tested positive for cocaine and alcohol was also found in his system. He only had a small amount of cocaine in his blood stream, around one tenth of what you would normally consider a potentially fatal dose. He was twice the drink drive limit but didn't have what you would consider a life-threatening amount in his system.

"What was also found in his system was lignocaine, a substance which is normally used as an anaesthetic to put people to sleep. There was 21mg of lignocaine per litre of blood. The usual amount that would be administered to put someone to sleep would be 1-5mg.

"It is unlikely he took it on it's own, it is more probable that it would have been mixed with the cocaine. It would have been mixed in to try and boost the cocaine, you never get it in its pure form.

"That is what will have stopped his heart and stopped him from breathing.

"This is a tragic waste of a young man's life. I can't begin to imagine the grief and devastation that you must be feeling.

"Time after time I see the damaging effects on families who have lost a loved one to a drug-related death. Even if it's a one-off, I just can't understand why you would take such a risk given that you just don't know what you're taking."