HEARTBREAKING tributes have been paid to a promising first-year student who died shortly after moving into university accommodation.

Jeni Larmour, 18, was found unresponsive when police were called to her halls in Newcastle just after 6am on Saturday.

She was pronounced dead at the scene and an 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying a Class B drug, thought to be ketamine.

Miss Larmour, from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was one of four young people to suffer a suspected drug death in the region over the weekend.

She had just started an undergraduate degree in architecture and urban planning at Newcastle University.

Before moving to the North-East, Miss Larmour had been deputy head girl at The Royal School in Armagh.

Her former principal, Graham Montgomery, described her as a ‘model pupil’.

He said: “It is with a profound sense of sadness and loss that the school community has learned of the sudden death of former deputy head girl, Jeni Larmour.

“Jeni was a spirited and independently minded girl with clear views which she was happy to articulate in a respectful manner and she was possessed of a well-developed sense of justice.

“We have no doubt, that given her academic ability and personality, Jeni had a bright future ahead of her and we are saddened that has been so suddenly cut short.

“We extend to her many friends, her family, brother and parents our sincerest sympathy at this tragic time and assure them of our prayers and practical support.”

The Northern Echo:

Jeni Larmour was part of the Combined Cadet Force

Miss Larmour’s friend, Piper Hebditch, 18, who met her on a cadets’ sailing trip in 2018, said she had been left ‘heartbroken’.

She said: “She was utterly amazing and will by truly missed by us all.

“I’ve spoken to her mum, they are heartbroken but are coping.”

William Irwin, Newry and Armagh’s Member of the Legislative Assembly for the DUP, has also spoken to Miss Larmour’s family.

He said: “The whole area is devastated at what has happened. Jeni was a very clever student and had made the big move over to university.

“Her mother went over with her and last saw her on Friday night and everything seemed okay. And then she got the news on Saturday that she was found unconscious and she subsequently passed away. It is a real tragedy.

“It is horrific for the family as she was a lovely young girl with all her life in front of her.

“Words do not describe what they are going through. The loss of a child is horrendous for any family.”

Miss Larmour was one of two 18-year-old women who died in Park View student village halls on Richardson Road after they were thought to have taken ketamine.

An 18-year-old man from Washington, who was not a student, and a 21-year-old from Northumbria University died after they were thought to have taken MDMA.

The Northern Echo:

Officers searched university accommodation on Monday

Northumbria Police has arrested 11 people and carried out searches of student accommodation using dogs.

Chief Inspector Steve Wykes encouraged any students in possession of illegal drugs to contact their university wellbeing teams or visit their local police station in order to dispose of them safely.

He said: “We are all still in shock at what has been an incredibly sad and difficult weekend.

“If you are in possession of illegal drugs, we would encourage you to dispose of them safely and not run the risk of causing yourself any harm by taking them.”