A mother broke down last night after two people pleaded guilty to supplying the class-A drug which killed her teenage daughter.

Lilli Brown, 17, died after revellers at a party had a £15-a-head whip round to buy bags of the killer drug heroin.

The keen athlete, who was due to start a job with Stockton Borough Council, was later found dead at a house in North Port Road, in the Portrack area of Stockton, after taking a lethal cocktail of drugs, including heroin.

Yesterday at Teesside Crown, Court Mark Anthony Gibben, 31, and Lisa Brown, 26, both of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, were remanded in custody for reports.

Last night Lilli's tearful mother, Helgi Brown, told The Northern Echo: "It's not getting easier, it's getting harder to deal with it all.

"They have pleaded guilty, but it won't bring Lilli back and that's all I care about."

A third defendant, Anthony Ernest McMaster, did not turn up at court. A warrant was issued for his arrest.