Heartbreaking evidence from a devoted mother who found her son dead after he overdosed on drugs has been heard at an inquest.

Lee Jonathan Black, 37, from Horden, Peterlee, was found in his Welfare Close flat by his mother Julie Black, who lived in a nearby property, on the morning of February 1.

The toxicology report found Mr Black had high levels of the drugs methadone, pregabalin, and bromazolam in his blood.

Read more: One woman was stabbed and another assaulted at Durham launderette

Dr James Henry, who conducted the post-mortem examination, established his cause of death as cardiorespiratory failure resulting from the depressant effect these drugs had on his central nervous system.

It also found evidence of non-recent cocaine and crack cocaine use.

Mrs Black, giving evidence at Crook Coroners’ Court, said Lee started taking heroin when he was around 17 but had managed to stop using the drug before he died.

She said: “I always told him not to keep anything from his mum, we were like that, he told his mum everything, I know every tablet he took, everything.

“He just couldn’t live in the real world without medicating himself with something.

“I always used to say to our Lee ‘I’ll walk in here one day and I’ll find you dead,’ and I always said that to him.

“He’d say ‘Mam, I’m only here for you.’

The inquest heard how Mr Black had last spoken with his family the day before he was found lying face down on a sofa.

Mrs Black said: “I want you to know Lee came from a good family. He was lovely, he was my son, but he was my best friend as well.

“He was a good kid, he was a good lad. I’ve got three boys and I’d never turn my back on any of them.”

Mr Black was last seen alive by friend Mark Hunt at 10pm on January 31, at which time he had fallen asleep and his friend had placed a blanket over him before leaving.

The inquest was told Mr Black died as a result of the combined depressant effect of the three drugs on his system, which stopped him breathing before he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Methadone is an opioid drug used as a replacement therapy in heroin addiction and withdrawal treatment.

Pregabalin is an analgesic and anti-epileptic drug, and the court heard this would have augmented the effects of methadone.

The benzodiazepine drug bromozolam was also present, and is not licensed for therapeutic use and can be only be obtained through ‘illicit routes’, the inquest was told.

Read next:

Assistant Coroner Janine Richards concluded Mr Black died a drug-related death.

She said: "It's palpable to anyone the love that you had for him and he had for you, I'm just so sorry we've had to meet in these circumstances.

"Lee Jonathan Black was found deceased at his home address on February 1, 2023, he died as a result of the combination of drugs which he'd ingested.

"The deceased had a long history of struggling with drug misuse. I'm going to find that [the death] was drug-related.

"If you don't mind me saying, you've behaved with great dignity, I can't imagine what you've been through. I'm so sorry for your loss."