A HEARTBROKEN mother has warned of the dangers of party drugs after her soldier son - who survived four years service in Afghanistan - died after taking ecstasy in Ibiza.

Father-of-one, Andrew Watson, from Darlington, died in his sleep on the first day of a short break to the island resort.

Following an inquest into his death yesterday, Mr Watson's mother told of how he had survived the killing fields of Afghanistan only to die after making a stupid mistake.

The Northern Echo: Andrew Watson, 31, died in his room at the Hotel Hotel Piscis Park De San Antonio, Ibiza, and leaves behind his two-year-old son, George.

Mr Watson, a devoted family man, had left the Army to spend more time at home with his young family. His mother, Christine Watson, said she was relieved when he quit the Armed Forces because she believed he was now safe.

She said: “He was a gorgeous boy, my son. He went to Afghanistan and when he came home I felt such relief that he was finally safe.

“He had a lot of friends and everyone loved him. He was my world. It’s just such a waste.”

Nearly £8,000 was raised in the days following Mr Watson’s death to cover the costs of bringing his body home as he had flown to Spain without insurance.

Mr Watson's girlfriend, Leanne Knight, who is the mother of his young son, also attended the inquest held at Crook Coroner’s Court yesterday (January 22).

The hearing was told that a group of 13 men had met in Darlington to travel to Doncaster Airport and celebrated with drinks before and during their flight on Monday, June 8, 2015.

Members of the party noticed Mr Watson “didn’t look particularly well and had a pale complexion” on the way to their destination at the Hotel Piscis Park De San Antonio, in Ibiza.

Detective Constable Stephen Hedley said: “They arrived at around lunchtime on the Monday and split into three separate taxis.

“During the course of the journey one of the people who had been with Andrew caught him purchasing something from the taxi driver.

“Some Euros were passed over and a small bag was passed back. They believed it was cocaine, but weren’t sure. Only one member of the group remembered that incident, but no one saw him using the drugs.”

The now-retired police officer said Spanish taxi drivers selling illegal substances to holidaymakers was a worrying trend in the country.

After spending the afternoon drinking at the hotel, Mr Watson called his girlfriend, Ms Knight, to say he had vomited several times and she advised him to sleep it off.

Several hours later Mr Watson called home again and said he felt “a lot better”, but had elected to stay in his hotel room for the evening while the rest of the group went out to nearby bars.

Mr Watson’s room-mate also stayed behind and slept before waking up at around 11pm to find Mr Watson had died.

A post mortem examination and toxicology reports produced in Spain revealed that traces of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, were found in Mr Watson’s system, leading coroner Andrew Tweddle to conclude Mr Watson's death was drug-related.

Tragically, Mr Watson had only decided to attend the stag do on a whim after becoming interested in maintaining his fitness and spending more time at home.

His girlfriend, Ms Knight, said: “His son, George, followed him around like a shadow, he absolutely worshipped him and loved him.

“Andrew didn’t go out much and he was in two minds about whether to go on the stag do at all because he was really into his fitness and eating healthily.

“He wasn’t a drug user – I’m shocked that this is the outcome. It wasn’t Andrew at all, he wouldn’t have risked his life.

“What’s happened is what boys do on holiday, not 30-year-old men. They should know they should be looking out for each other instead of carrying on drinking. We want to warn everyone how dangerous stag do's can be.”