Family rocked by Oswestry partygoer’s death

The devastated family of a Shropshire man who died after taking ecstasy today warned that nobody was immune from the ‘sometimes tragic consequences’ of taking recreational drugs.

Relatives of Lloyd Jones, of Oswestry, were speaking after an inquest held in London yesterday ruled his death was an accident.

The inquest at North London Coroner’s Court was told 21-year-old Mr Jones, of Thornhurst Avenue, died after taking ecstasy during a rave at London’s Alexandra Palace in November.

In a statement Mr Lloyd’s family said: “Lloyd was a much loved son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin as well as a popular and loyal friend to many. The pain of losing him is devastating to us all.

“We cherish our memories of a lovely young man who was taken from us too soon.

“Lloyd was healthy and strong and had a wonderful future ahead of him.

“We hope that others will learn that nobody is immune or invincible from the sometimes tragic consequences of taking so called popular recreational drugs.”

Another raver, 20-year-old Richard Baker, from Chessington, Surrey, collapsed and died after attending the same venue the next night.

The men’s deaths sparked a drugs alert from police amid fears a lethal batch of contaminated ecstasy was circulating in the area.

Dr Simon Poole, who conducted the postmortem examination, told the inquest that he had concluded the cause of Mr Jones’s death was the toxic effects of MDMA - the powdered form of the drug.

He also found Mr Jones had suffered multiple organ failure.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Mr Andrew Walker said it was likely Mr Jones had died as the result of an overdose – rather than taking tainted drugs.