A BASINGSTOKE man died after injecting himself with heroin, an inquest heard.

The inquest at Basingstoke Magistrates Court was told that Laurence Williams, 41, had visited Ray Smith and Daniel Mulnar at Mallory Road, Popley, on the evening of Thursday, September 18. They were joined by Christian Lane a few hours later.

Although statements from the men about what happened next differ, the inquest heard Mr Williams injected heroin which was brought to the property by Mr Lane, and an ambulance was called to the address at around 7am on Friday, September 19. Mr Williams was taken to Basingstoke hospital, where he died two days later.

The police attended the scene after being called by ambulance staff. Police staff investigator William Reed told coroner Andrew Bradley that Mr Lane, who originally fled the scene, had later handed himself in to police.

He said: “He admitted supplying heroin to ‘help him out’ but denied helping him to administer the heroin. He was charged with supply and was sentenced to 22 months.”

Mr Bradley told the inquest that a post-mortem had found Mr Williams had multiple puncture wounds in his arms and cirrhosis in his liver. Paracetamol, heroin and evidence of previous cocaine use was found in his blood, and he was 1.7 times above the legal driving limit.

His mother, Tina Williams, told Mr Bradley she was shocked to hear her son was a regular heroin user. She said: “I thought he was just having a problem with drink. I’ve given so many years looking after him. I still love him.”

Recording a verdict of misadventure and stating that the cause of death was heroin toxicity, Mr Bradley said: “I find these cases incredibly difficult to deal with. It is self-destruction and it does not make any sense.”