THE mother of a 20-year-old heroin addict found dead on a friend's sofa has warned other parents the drug will steal more sons and daughters lives.

Janet Willcox, from Melksham, saw her son move from recreational drugs onto heroin when he was just 16.

An inquest into the death of her son Gary revealed he died from a heroin overdose, just a day after being released from prison.

She said: "Heroin got hold of him at a young age and it took over his life.

"It was like a disease that took his soul away, I used to call him my little lost boy.

"Gary was never violent and he had no malice in him, but once he started taking that rubbish his life just drifted away."

Now she has warned other parents the same tragedy can strike anywhere, and wants more help for addicts.

Mrs Willcox said: "There is a stigma attached to heroin addicts, but parents need to know this can happen to anyone's son or daughter whether you are a lawyer or a bin man."

As a schoolboy in Corsham Gary was often in trouble and was later diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

He started smoking cannabis when he was 11 and soon began stealing to feed his addictions.

The youngest of four children, Gary had a four-year-old daughter, Tiffany, who has been adopted by his mother.

Mrs Willcox said: "No matter what anyone says once you start using so-called recreational drugs it starts a spiral that can only result in misery."

Last Thursday an inquest into Gary's death revealed more questions than answers, when the coroner spoke of 'curiosities and inconsistencies'.

The coroner delivered an open verdict after stories given by witnesses failed to match reports from a top doctor.

Mrs Willcox said: "We still don't know what happened and I don't think we ever will. Now my lost boy is at rest and the family must try to move on."

It was the second tragedy to hit the family Mrs Willcox's daughter died of a brain haemorrhage, and in a cruel twist of fate her mother died on the same weekend as Gary.

She wants to see more rehab centres and support for heroin addicts. She said: "When Gary came out of prison he was clean but he found himself going back to the undesirables.

"Heroin addicts come from all walks of life and the prisons are full of people like Gary, so whatever we are doing at the moment is not working."

Parents of drug users can get support from REACH on 07867 524221 or 0800 286318.

Mystery of heroin tragedy

THE final hours of 20-year-old heroin addict Gary Willcox's life were riddled with inconsistencies and curiosities, an inquest heard.

Mr Willcox died of a heroin overdose on friend Stephen Pitt's sofa in Portway, Chippenham, in September last year, with more than six times the fatal dose of heroin in his blood.

Deputy Wiltshire coroner William Bache said he could not deliver a verdict of accidental death because witness statements and a report by a top toxicologist did not match.

He said: "There are too many curiosities and inconsistencies in the stories leading up to his death for me to deliver anything but an open verdict.

"Mr Pitts' view of the events of that evening are not consistent with the report by the toxicologist."

Stephen Pitts told the inquest in Chippenham on Thursday he had spoken to Mr Willcox and heard him snoring shortly before he died.

But a report by toxicologist Peter Streete contradicted the sequence of events.

Mr Bache raised concerns over where and when Mr Willcox got hold of the heroin, after hearing he had left his friend's house for a while and no drug-taking equipment was found there.