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A teenage boy died after taking some strong Ecstasy tablets at an over 16s disco nightclub party.

Luke Campbell-Tapson, aged 16, collapsed on the dance floor and died in hospital five hours later.

An inquest heard that he had paid £50 to buy five Ecstasy tablets from a young friend days before the party at the Vivid nightspot in Ilfracombe, North Devon, in May 2017.

Coroner Lydia Brown warned about the dangers of drug taking by youngsters.

She said:"Luke died after taking an unknown quantity of MDMA.

"There was evidence that he had used the drug before without incident."



He bought the red jigsaw pills which the dealer said were 'stronger' than Luke was used to.

She recorded a conclusion that he died from a 'drug related death' after ingesting up to three tablets of the illegal drug.

Luke's mum tearfully thanked all those who tried to save her son who she said would be 'dancing in the thunderstorm forever'.

The coroner called his death a 'tragic loss of a young life by a random and unpredictable turn of events'.

She said:"The dangers of taking illicit drugs are well recognised and well published but it just seems to be ignored by a large part of society."

(Image: Lee Butcher)

She added preventing further deaths will be 'very challenging' saying the student's death was an 'absolute tragedy for his family and wider community'.

The coroner was told he had taken three of the MDMA tablets in the 'very hot venue' which one witness described as 'an oven'.

There were complaints that some of the 350 youngsters at the alcohol-free party did not have access to water or could not leave the premises to cool down.

Recent drug-related tragedies Luke's death was the first in a series of recent drugs deaths in the Westcountry involving youngsters. Two 19-year-old men died from a drugs overdose in a Plymouth nightclub in December 2017 and a 15-year-old girldied in Newton Abbot in 2017. In recent weeks two 15-year-old girls and a 16-year-old youth have died from drugs overdoses in Tavistock Devon, Taunton, Somerset and Camborne in Cornwall.

Pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery said Luke, 16, had a 'significant amount of MDMA' in his body.

She concluded that Luke, from South Molton, Devon, died from the toxic effects of the MDMA.

Toxicology expert Peter Beresford told the inquest that the illicit drug is a stimulant which creates euphoria and self confidence as well as energy.

But he said it also leads to confusion and agitation and can lead to comas.

He said Luke's level of MDMA was four times that which can lead to death.

He also said Luke's body was 'incredibly overheated' and he suffered cardiac arrests before he died in a hospital in Barnstaple, Devon.

The inquest - attended by many of Luke's family - heard that two youngsters had been charged with supplying drugs and dealt with by a judge at Exeter Crown Court.

One was sentenced to 18 months in youth detention suspended for two years and the other was given a youth rehabilitation order - after Luke's family asked for clemency for the pair.