A mother in Devon who prevented two young dealers that had sold her son lethal ecstasy tablets from going to jail has warned that home secretary Priti Patel’s vow to renew the ‘war on drugs’ is doomed to fail.

Claire Campbell along with her daughter Esther said they are speaking out to highlight failed drug prohibition policies. They saved two teenagers from prison by asking the judge to put them on a restorative justice scheme.

The teenage dealers had been selling ecstasy on to their friends in north Devon from stashes they had originally purchased from the dark web. Claire’s son Luke died in 2017 after ingesting two ecstasy tablets the duo sold him before an under-18s disco party.

Esther Campbell and her mother not only forgave the pair and persuaded the court not to imprison them but have since joined an organisation which aims to have all drugs legalised and regulated across the UK.

Luke’s mother and sister said they wanted to use his death to campaign against prohibition, which they believe puts more people in mortal peril from adulterated or untested, dangerously strong drugs.

Sporting small tattoos of lightning flashes on their wrists, a tribute to Luke who died during an electric storm over southwest England, Claire Campbell described how he lost his life in May 2017 just after school lessons ended for the year.

“Luke was full of energy, life, love and laughter. He was 6ft tall, always willing to help others and stand up against injustice, and he just made one stupid decision that cost him his life.

“He had just completed a large bulk of his GCSEs and went to the under-18s disco to celebrate. He took the tablet on the bus and then one of his friends said he took another in the club. After a while inside the club he started staggering around, he was heating up and then collapsed, going into a fit.”

When Claire and Esther arrived at Barnstaple general hospital Luke was already wrapped in ice, wired up to machines, his heart had stopped and the medical emergency team were trying to revive him.

Police discovered quickly that two older boys one year ahead of Luke at school had sold him the tablets.

Esther said that from the moment she and her mother discovered who the main suspects were “the last thing we wanted was revenge”.

“The hardest part for us was when the boys were arrested we were not able to go near and tell them that we didn’t want revenge,” she said.

“They were just selling it to their mates in college and school. It was social supply not some hardened dealer up an alleyway flogging drugs to strangers.”

Her mother said the family “made it very clear to the police team about how we felt and our concerns for their welfare, especially their mental welfare”.

By the time the case against the pair reached Exeter crown court in June 2018, Claire and Esther said it became apparent the prosecution was seeking a custodial sentence for both of them.

“I felt so sorry for them when I saw them in the crown court,” said Esther, “They were told to expect to go to prison and we saw that they had brought their bags in to take into jail. They were Luke’s friends and they will have to live with the fact that they sold him the drugs that killed him for the rest of their lives. That must have been an awful feeling and punishment enough.”

Claire asked the police officers she had been working with if the judge would allow her victim-family impact statement to be read by him.

“It was clear the prosecution was going to use Luke’s death to make an example of the boys. But we told the investigating officers that if anyone was going to use what happened to Luke it would be us. And we wanted to use his death for better not for worse. Because chances are if they went to prison those boys would have had a worse life,” Esther said.

Her mother added: “I think one of them in particular would not have survived jail.”

After the Campbell family’s plea was read out the pair were placed on a restorative justice scheme that involved face-to-face meetings with Claire and Esther, community service and one of them having to be tagged.

Since the trial that resulted in the dealers rebuilding their own lives while keeping in touch with the Campbells, Claire and Esther have backed the “Anyone’s Child” campaign. It is an international network of families whose lives have been ravaged by drugs but who believe banning narcotics causes even more harm.

On Patel’s recent promise at the Tory party conference for a further crackdown on drugs, Claire said: “It just won’t work as it’s a lip service policy. Because saying, ‘don’t take drugs or if you do we will lock you up’, well, that has not worked so far. And it is never going to work because people can just go like those boys did and buy off the dark web even if they don’t connect with criminal gangs on the streets.

“You get a huge sheet of paper to tell you what happens when you take paracetemol. In the future this is the way all drugs should be treated which will save lives through doctors and pharmacies.”

Esther, now the mother of a newborn daughter, feels that now more than ever things need to change for the next generation. She and her mother have become strong advocates of the legalisation and regulation of drugs.

“We support this campaign so that Luke hasn’t died in vain. He was outspoken if something was unjust or wrong so it is only right that we do that for him.”

Jane Slater, campaign manager for Anyone’s Child in the UK, praised the Campbells for saving two teenage dealers from jail and backing the campaign to reform Britain’s drug laws.

“Claire and Esther’s remarkable story changes a typical image of a ‘drug dealer’, these boys were friends with Luke but could also have been anyone’s child. A prison sentence would have been catastrophic for the boys and their families.”