Sister of Telford man who died after taking a 'legal high' to set up drugs charity

Charlotte Delo, whose brother died last year after taking a lethal cocktail of the legal drug 4,4 DMAR and ecstasy, said she hoped to get the charity up and running in the new year.

The news comes after shock new figures revealed that the number of 999 ambulance calls involving people who have taken so-called legal highs has increased by 700 per cent over the past two years.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said it received a total of 222 emergency calls relating to the drugs in the year up until September, compared to just 31 in 2013.

The figures reflect a wider UK trend, which have shown the number of deaths from the substances have more than doubled over the past four years.

An inquest held in February this year heard how Mr Penn, from Telford, died after buying 4,4 DMAR from a woman in Shrewsbury.

The drug reacted with the ecstasy he had taken earlier in the evening, and he died hours later.

Chris Moore, clinical support lead for the Welsh Ambulance Service, said he was concerned about the trend.

He said: "They are certainly more widely available than they've ever been before and that's probably why there's a reflection in the numbers that we're recording on our systems."

Mr Moore said the numbers were still relatively small, though.

"These calls can be more challenging because we don't know what the patient is going to be like they could be aggressive, they could be passive, they might not be on scene when we get there or be completely erratic and unmanageable."

A Shropshire Star investigation carried out following Mr Penn's death revealed that synthetic cannabis was freely available from a market stall in the Telford area.

Legislation is going through Parliament at the moment to ban the sale of all non-prescription mind-altering substances, which include synthetic cannabis and cocaine-type drugs, as well as gases such as nitrous oxide which are inhaled by users.

The Government has previously tried to ban specific drugs, but the manufacturers got round the laws by varying the contents slightly.

John Campion, who is standing for the Conservatives to be West Mercia's next police and crime commissioner, called on trading standards officials in the meantime to use the powers they have to disrupt the sale of such products, which are often sold under the pretence of having other uses.

"It should be remembered that Al Capone was prosecuted for his tax evasion rather than his crimes," said Mr Campion.

"There are shops around selling things like bongs and other drug paraphernalia, and I would like to see trading standards officers using the powers they have, such as the trade descriptions, to make sure that everything in these shops is 100 per cent legal."

Mrs Delo, who now works with Telford & Wrekin Council gives talks to youngsters at schools throughout the area, said she would support such action.

She said her new charity would provide support to legal-high users and their families.

Mrs Delo, of Haybridge Road, Hadley, said since she began her campaign against the drugs, she had heard many stories from worried parents about the dangers of the drugs.

"One woman got in touch with me, she has got two daughters who are smoking this stuff, and she doesn't know what to do.

"I want to set a charity up next year in Jamie's name to help people in these situations.

"The people who sell these things would not give them to their own children," she added.