Paul Gascoigne’s young nephew died as a result of an accidental drugs overdose, his inquest heard.
Jay Lennon Gascoigne, 22, was found dead at his girlfriend’s home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
A court heard he had battled mental health issues from the age of 13 and became dependant on drugs and alcohol, occasionally bought off the internet.
But today – the third day of his inquest in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear – the coroner ruled Mr Gascoigne took a fatal cocktail of drugs despite repeated warnings from health professionals in his last months.
However, Terence Carney, coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside, ruled the death was accidental.
The court heard how Mr Gascoigne, previously known as Kerrigan, suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) from childhood which caused him anxiety and distress, with intrusive thoughts, when he was growing up.
His distraught mum Anna Kerrigan said in a statement he "seemed to fall between the crack of mental health and drug services".
Mental health services needed him to be free from drugs to be able to clearly diagnose his condition as an adult, the court heard.
And drug services required his ongoing mental health issues to be addressed in order to help him.
The coroner rejected that there were systemic failures which contributed significantly to his death in April 2016.
Mr Carney said Mr Gascoigne "presented with a complex medical profile", which included OCD and "poly-drug use".
The coroner said: "I am not satisfied that he deliberately intended to self-harm, I question whether he fully understood or appreciated, despite the number of times he would be told, the real dangers that he faced.
"To lose a child at such a tender age, against a background of such intensive management care by the family, and particularly mum, must be heart-rending in the extreme."
Read More
Top Stories from Mirror Online
-
Woman’s grave has huge iPhone headstone
-
Two bodies found at Manchester hotel -
Monkeypox strikes third Brit after h…
-
Uni freshers strip for £11 prize
Mrs Kerrigan did not comment immediately after the inquest.
Her brother Paul, who was not at the hearing, has previously said in an interview how he wanted to help others going through the same ordeal.
The England legend said: "I want to support anyone that is suffering like my nephew did."
Source: Read Full Article