Ben Nelson Roux inquest: Coroner says exploited teenager should not have been housed in hostel for homeless adults

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

Kate Roux, from Knaresborough, said her son was a “sunny, creative and kind” boy, but he had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse since the age of 12.

An inquest heard he had also been ruthlessly exploited by drug dealers, who forced him to sell Class A drugs after he fell into debt and threatened to cut his fingers off.

The teenager was provided with accommodation at the Harrogate Borough Council-run hostel after his mother asked him to leave the family home in January 2020, because he became violent when she refused to pay his drug debts, and he refused to be taken into care.

North Yorkshire County Council said it was planning to move Ben into another hostel that provides specialist support to young people, and he was top of the waiting list but there were no vacancies.

Three days before his death, Ben told his social worker he felt suicidal and could no longer live at Cavendish House, where he had seen men inject Class A drugs.

Recording his verdict, Senior Coroner Jon Heath said the hostel was “unsuitable” but it “cannot be concluded that his accommodation contributed to his death”.

The coroner said he was concerned the council did not search for appropriate accommodation outside North Yorkshire and that there are no facilities that provide substance misuse treatment and accommodation to under 18s.

He also said Ben took multiple drugs before his death but the cause cannot be ascertained, because Covid-19 restrictions prevented the pathologist from conducting a full post mortem examination of the body.

Before he died, specialists from 12 organisations, including social workers and psychiatrists, had become increasingly concerned about Ben as he was frequently taking drugs, getting arrested, injuring himself and threatening to take his own life.

He was arrested or questioned by police 26 times and admitted to A&E 12 times in the final year of his life, and a child protection strategy meeting was due to take place on the day he died.

Barry Nelson told the inquest his son was “spiralling desperately out of control”, while the professionals who had been called in to help were more focused on “ticking boxes".

The day before his death, Ms Roux called for her son to be detained under the Mental Health Act for his own safety, after he was admitted to hospital because he had fallen after taking 29 tablets of diazepam and crack cocaine.

However, doctors said there were no grounds to detain him, as he had not been diagnosed with a severe mental health disorder.

Psychiatrists at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) had concluded that the root cause of Ben’s problems were his drug and alcohol abuse.

The inquest was also told that even if Ben had needed inpatient treatment on a secure mental health ward, there were no beds available.

During the inquest at Northallerton Coroners Court, Ms Roux said 12 agencies were involved in Ben’s care, but they ultimately failed to save him.

“In the last year of his life, we believe that all of his risk factors escalated,” she said.

“He took stronger drugs, was exploited by criminals, became more violence at home and was involved in violence against members of the public.”

She added: “There was no rehab for under 18s, no suitable accommodation, no psychiatric beds available, no escalation of safeguarding concerns, no CAHMS care plan and no child protection plan.”

She also told the inquest that allowing her son to move out was “the worst mistake I’ve ever made” and she repeatedly asked him to move home, before she found him dead at the hostel on April 8.

The council said a rapid review, which was held after Ben’s death and involved a number of safeguarding experts, concluded that teenagers under 18 should not be housed in adult hostels.