Growing up, Stephen Holt had a wonderful childhood, going on countless family holidays and getting up to mischief like all young lads like to do.
However, during his late teens, the Chorley man's family started to notice a change in his personality when he began drinking alcohol and taking illicit drugs. His behaviour, when intoxicated, became increasingly impulsive as time went by - and he was referred to mental health services on several occasions after a series of worrying incidents.
He was found at a motorway bridge with a rope in one incident, while on another he had to be cut down after attempting to hang himself. Stephen knew that these attempts were linked to drink and drugs - but he was unable to "escape from the clutches of cocaine".
Tragically, in January of this year, Stephen was found dead. Now, his family is urging people suffering with drug addiction to seek help, reports Lancs Live.
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On January 17 of this year, Stephen - diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder - spent some time at his friend Sam's house in Coppull. He had a few drinks while he was there and although his friends didn't see him taking drugs they suspected he was under the influence of ketamine.
Reece Lever, who was there that night, wasn't drinking as he was driving and at one point witnessed Stephen suffer a fit or seizure. Reece persuaded Stephen to let him take him home to Cobden Street where his mate was reassured he was ok.
However, four days later nobody had heard from Stephen, and police were called. Sadly he was found face down on the bed with two bags of white powder next to him. At an inquest held on May 25 at Preston Coroner's Court Stephen's parents, along with his grandma, sat and listened as they heard how he died from cocaine toxicity.
In a statement Stephen's friend Reece said about the last time he saw him: "I didn't see him take any drugs but I could tell he was on them and I knew he was addicted to prescription medication. He was a really nice but troubled guy who had a lot of issues with drugs."
Ian Brocklehurst from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, which provided mental health treatment to Stephen, said that his records indicated that his engagement was sporadic. When asked why Stephen used drugs and alcohol Mr Brocklehurst said: "He struggled to cope with distressing emotions.
"In individuals who have Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder they struggle to deal with life events and they can become emotionally dis-regulated and very distressed. They do have a high instance of using drugs and alcohol which exacerbates feelings of emotional distress."
During his sessions with mental health practitioners Stephen reported that he drank and took drugs to "numb" his feelings. He experienced severe paranoia as well as feeling trapped and his drug use had led to him being unable to see his two young daughters.
Returning a conclusion of drug-related death Assistant Coroner Sian Jones said: "Stephen was a man who had a long history of mental health and drink and drug problems. He had engaged, sporadically, with services but not really with substance abuse organisations.
"On January 17, he was observed by friends to have had a seizure after they understood him to have taken ketamine. He seemed to recover from that but wasn't seen by anyone again.
"Concerns were raised for his welfare when he hadn't been seen for several days and he was sadly found dead. The risks in taking a significant amount of cocaine, in this case, came to pass."
After the inquest Stephen's dad Chris said his son had been a "lovely boy" growing up and had a happy childhood. However, he "couldn't escape the clutches of cocaine", which ended up taking his life.
"Step-mum Jacci said: "He was the nicest lad you could ever meet. But the drink and drugs got hold of him and it just changed him. It ruined a beautiful person.
"He fell into this dark hole and there was no ladder for him to get out. He just couldn't break free from it."
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