‘Beautiful soul’ teenager, 18, died after night out with friends at music festival
HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a teenager who died after a night out with friends at a music festival.
Adrian Watson, 18, tragically passed away after accidentally overdosing on drugs, an inquest heard.
Adrian, a student at Cardinal Newman College in Preston, Lancashire, walked home after enjoying a night out with pals on June 29 last year.
The 18-year-old was living in supported accommodation, and was described by staff at Merriweather as a “model resident”.
CCTV footage showed the teenager entering the bedroom at around 2am and staff had no concerns.
But the following evening, when nobody had heard anything, staff entered the room at 7.30pm and found Adrian dead.
Police were called but detectives found no suspicious circumstances or evidence of any third-party involvement.
The inquest heard that the level of MDMA – ecstasy – found in Adrian’s system was within that encountered in fatalities attributed to MDMA alone.
Adrian had also taken a potentially fatal amount of prescribed medication propranolol although there was no suggestion this was intentional.
Family friend Patricia Cogley has since helped to raise money to pay for Adrian’s funeral.
She wrote in a fundraiser: “The world has lost an absolutely beautiful soul.
“I’m hoping to help their family towards the enormous costs of organising, paying for and giving their beautiful young family member the send-off they want to and also, what Adrian should have.
“They had struggles through life, far too many to describe but they absolutely took life by the horns and were at a point of achieving and excelling in their life. They were so creative and talented, with music and art their best loves.”
An inquest held at Preston Coroner’s Court, heard that friends who had spent the previous evening with Adrian suspected their pal had taken drugs.
Detective Inspector Amanda Henderson, from Lancashire Constabulary, said: “Adrian attended a music festival in Preston with friends. We ascertained, from speaking to friends, that they went back to Merriweather to get changed.
“They then went to Wetherspoons and then went to Warehouse nightclub.
“Friends described Adrian’s emotions and behaviour as unusual so some of them formed the opinion that Adrian had taken MDMA as this had happened on previous occasions.”
Returning a conclusion of misadventure – where death is caused by the unintentional consequences of an intended act – Assistant Coroner Richard Taylor said: “It appears to me that this is someone who has taken more than they would normally take but certainly not with the intention of ending their life.
“Friends and family will always wonder ‘what if?’ but there can be no criticism of anybody for what happened. Nobody should feel guilty in any way, shape or form.
“The fact that so many people are here today only goes to show how moved and missed they are.”
After the inquest Adrian’s boyfriend, Dominic Collison, described how more than 200 people had attended a memorial, in Winckley Square.
Pals listened to Adrian’s favourite song, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.