Ben Nelson-Roux died at Cavendish House in Harrogate on April 8 in 2020, after taking a number of drugs, including cocaine, diazepam and ecstasy.

His mother Kate Roux, from Knaresborough, said he had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse for several years.

After she asked him to leave the family home in January 2020, because he had become violent, Harrogate Borough Council provided him with accomodation.

The teenager had also been exploited by drug dealers and ordered to sell Class A drugs, after falling into debt. The inquest heard he had become paranoid and occasionally carried a hammer for protection.

Godfrey Burke, from North Yorkshire Youth Justice Service, told the inquest his team had been working with mental health specialists, social workers and the police to try and prevent Ben from reoffending.

But he said that between October 2019 and March 2020, the teenager began committing offences, such as shoplifting, drunk and disorderly and possession of cannabis, on a more regular basis.

Mr Burke said “the frequency of the arrests was a concern” and his team worked with safeguarding experts to figure out why he was committing these offences and who he was associating with.

They believed that Ben was being exploited and he was referred to the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) National Referral Mechanism, which aims to provide support of human trafficking or modern slavery.

The NCA agreed that there was conclusive evidence to show he was being exploited and stated that criminal charges brought against him, which could be linked to the exploitation, should be dismissed in court.

Mr Burke said: “In the interest of justice, it's not fair if a young person is being trafficked or exploited that they are then meant to suffer the consequences of that.”

Judges at Harrogate Youth Court and the Crown Prosecution Service then agreed to drop the charges.

Mr Burke said his team kept working with Ben to prevent him from committing more criminal offences and provide him with the support he needed.

“We were very concerned not just about his substance misuse, but also how that was impacting on his mental health and emotional well being,” he said.

“I think it's fair to say the misuse of substances probably exacerbated the underlying mental health concerns.”

Last week, the inquest heard Ben’s mother had called for him to be detained under the Mental Health Act the day before his death.

She was concerned he could die, but mental health crisis teams and doctors concluded there were no grounds to detain him.

He has previously been assessed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) which concluded he was not suffering from a severe mental disorder and there was not a significant threat of self harm or suicide.

Ms Roux found her son’s body at the hostel on April 8, when she was planning to take him to see a psychiatrist.

A child protection strategy meeting, involving social workers, mental health professionals and other safeguarding experts, was due to be held on the day of his death.

The inquest continues.

Teenager exploited by criminals before he was found dead at homeless hostel