THE mother of a 40-year-old man who died of a heroin overdose has written letters to the Home Secretary and chief constable of Cambridgeshire police complaining about the way the incident was handled. Steven Kilpatrick died on July 7 last year – he was fo

THE mother of a 40-year-old man who died of a heroin overdose has written letters to the Home Secretary and chief constable of Cambridgeshire police complaining about the way the incident was handled.

Steven Kilpatrick died on July 7 last year - he was found collapsed at his computer table by one of his sons - an inquest heard on Friday.

"He did not have a heroin problem, we believe this was only the second time had had taken the drug," said Mr Kilpatrick's mother, Marion Edwards.

Steven, a father of two, had been living in Hempfield Place at Littleport with his two teenage sons at the time of his death.

"We are not satisfied with the police investigation, and have made a formal complaint," said Mrs Edwards. "Our solicitor is going to help us take this further."

She and her husband Ivan Edwards moved from Norwich to Littleport after Steven's death, to look after his two sons. "We had to drop everything and move to Cambridgeshire," she said.

Mrs Edwards believes that her son had been with other people before his death and that someone gave him the heroin and should be prosecuted. She also believes her son was already dead when her grandson found his father collapsed on the night of July 6, but he thought his dad was asleep, so did not call for help until the next morning.

"He had been dead since about 10pm the previous night," said Mrs Edwards. "His son thought he was asleep. The police did not treat the incident as suspicious."

The inquest heard how Mr Kilpatrick had confided to friends that he had taken the Class A drug and they were concerned for him as he had always made it clear that he was against drug-taking.

The coroner concluded that Mr Kilpatrick had die through misuse of drugs.

He rejected an application by the family's solicitor Michael Judkins to bring a verdict of unlawful killing.

A police spokesman told the Ely Standard: "All sudden deaths are investigated thoroughly and officers found no evidence to suggest any suspicious circumstances, which was supported by the verdict of the coroner's inquest.