Warning issued to region 'awash with M-Cat drug'

The deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, in the Scunthorpe area last year sparked a media storm after police said they believed the pair had taken mephedrone, also known as M-Cat or Meow Meow.

This "legal high" was eventually criminalised and classified as a class B drug after weeks of controversy.

But separate inquests yesterday into the deaths of Mr Smith, a trainee chef at upmarket restaurant Winteringham Fields, and apprentice welder Mr Wainwright, heard there was no trace of mephedrone in either man's body.

Det Chief Insp Mark Oliver, of Humberside Police, told the inquest into Mr Wainwright's death: "We have no evidence or information that Louis Wainwright had ever, or did on that night, take mephedrone."

Instead, the coroner was told, the rugby playing teenager died from a combination of alcohol and an overdose of the class A heroin substitute methadone.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, North Lincolnshire Coroner Paul Kelly told the court he had seen a dramatic increase in deaths caused by methadone in recent years.

Mr Kelly said he would write to the substance abuse directors of the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams of the local authorities where he works asking them to review local procedures for reducing the drug's availability on the streets.

"My impression, for what it's worth, is that methadone is increasingly more valued as a commodity rather than for its therapeutic effect," he said.

"As a consequence, it is my feeling that the community is awash with methadone carelessly, recklessly or criminally mishandled."

Mr Wainwright was found dead at his home in the village of Winteringham by his mother on March 15 last year, after he had gone out with friends, including Mr Smith, in Scunthorpe town centre.

Friends described how they had to help him home as he was so intoxicated and the court heard how, earlier, police and paramedics were called to check on him by CCTV camera operators.

Mr Smith went to a friend's house in Scunthorpe to stay after the night out and was "very drunk", the court heard. The alarm was raised when he could not be woken the next day.

The coroner was told the combination of alcohol and methadone caused a reaction in his brain which impaired his impulse to breathe. Mr Kelly also recorded a verdict of accidental death in respect of Smith.

Mr Oliver told the court there was evidence both of the men had tried to buy M-Cat during the evening.

And, speaking after the hearing, he said he did not regret making the initial public link with mephedrone.

"I think we gave out a message at the time that said that those two young men had taken drugs in Scunthorpe that were known locally as M-Cat.

"Whether that was mephedrone or some other drugs actually mattered not to us. We needed to get a message out to people locally who might have been taking drugs in Scunthorpe. Would we do this again? Yes, we would always err on the side of public safety."

The families of both men issued statements paying tribute to them after the hearings.

Mr Wainwright's family said they were "devastated" by their loss, but wanted him to be remembered "for the fun-loving, affable and thoughtful young man that he was".

Mr Smith's family described him as "a wonderful son and brother", adding: "Our only hope is that something good can come from this senseless tragedy."

Public outcry led to 'legal high' ban

Last year the then Government responded to a public outcry by banning mephedrone after the so-called "legal high" was linked to several deaths.

Sold as plant food and readily available on the street, it became the party drug of choice among young people despite warnings about its dangers.

In 2009, the Health Protection Agency's National Poisons Information Service recorded almost 5,000 calls about mephedrone compared to none the previous year.

Mephedrone was banned last April and classified as a class B drug – but experts have warned of "legal substitutes" which contain the same substance or related chemicals.