Father saw son die from drugs

DRUG abuse killed a man who had suffered several addictions since his early teens. Richard Sawyer died in his father s house on High Street, Haddenham on May 26, at the age of 29. His father, James Sawyer, explained at the inquest on Friday that he woke

DRUG abuse killed a man who had suffered several addictions since his early teens.

Richard Sawyer died in his father's house on High Street, Haddenham on May 26, at the age of 29.

His father, James Sawyer, explained at the inquest on Friday that he woke to find his son kneeling by his bed, with a syringe by his head, at around 4am after returning from the pub. Mr Sawyer called emergency services and tried to carry out CPR while taking instructions over the telephone, but paramedics arrived and pronounced his son dead at 5.20am.

Mr Sawyer said his son had told him he had stopped taking heroin and started a methadone programme in 2004.

Yet he still regularly found syringes in his bedroom.

Pathologist Graeme Maidment carried out the post mortem examination.

He said: "Several fresh needle wounds were found in the left arm and in the back of his left foot and there were multiple needle scars all over his body. There was also an amount of morphine in Mr Sawyer's body that was in the range to be fatal."

Coroner William Morris stated the cause of death to be effects of morphine and recorded a verdict of death from an abuse of drugs.