Teenager groomed by drug dealers ‘spiralled desperately out of control’ before his death

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 said her son was “bright, sunny, creative and kind”, but he had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse for several years.

She said he began self-harming at the age of 8, and suffered from paranoia, heard voices and had vivid hallucinations.

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

Ben was provided with accommodation at the hostel by Harrogate Borough Council after his mother had asked him to leave the family home in January 2020, following a series of violent outbursts, but the teeanger refused to be taken into care.

A range of specialists, including social workers and psychiatrists, became 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.

His father Barry Nelson said the specialists did not listen to the family’s concerns and were more concerned with “ticking boxes” and following processes and procedures that “were quite obviously inadequate”.

He added: “We could just see that Ben wasn’t somebody who was happy and in control. He was mentally ill and spiralling desperately out of control.”

Ms Roux said 12 agencies were involved in Ben’s, 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 (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) 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.

CAHMS had stated that Ben was not suffering from a mental health disorder, claiming his drug and alcohol abuse were the root cause of his problems.

The day before his death, Kate called for her son to be detained under the Mental Health Act, after he was admitted to hospital because he had taken a large amount of drugs and expressed suicidal thoughts. But doctors concluded there were no grounds to do so.

The council has since accepted the hostel was not an appropriate place to house a 16-year-old boy, but claimed it was attempting to find him a place at a hostel for 16-25 year olds which offers specialist support.