Drug man jailed after friend died

A Shropshire man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after he admitted injecting a talented musician with heroin.Kent Nicholls admitted supplying a quantity of diamorphine, otherwise known as heroin, to Andrew Leake on April 29.

Nicholls, 41, of Bailey Head, Oswestry, also admitted administering a poison, namely diamorphine, so as to endanger life or inflict grevious bodily harm.

Mr Leake was found collapsed in the garden of his home in Hengoed and was later pronounced dead in hospital.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday, Judge Robin Onions sentenced Nicholls to two and a half years in prison.

He said: "This is an unhappy case and tragic for Mr Leake who suffered a premature death. I do not in any way attempt to put a value on Mr Leake's life, no court can do that.

"The best thing you can do is put heroin behind you," he added.

"It is a killer as this case shows."

The court heard Nicholls and 41-year-old Mr Leake had gone back to Mr Leake's home after drinking in a pub during the afternoon.

Nicholls said Mr Leake had pressured him into injecting him with heroin, saying he had taken it before.

Mr Patrick Darby, prosecuting, said: "There was a small quantity of fluid left in the syringe Mr Nicholls had used himself.

"He put it into another syringe, diluted it further and injected it into Mr Leake."

The court heard the men then went out into the garden but Mr Leake began struggling for breath so Nicholls called an ambulance.

An inquest on Mr Leake found he had died as a result of inhalation of gastric contents due to morphine and alcohol intoxication.

The court heard it was impossible for the toxicologist to say whether it was the drug or the alcohol that suppressed the cough reflex.

Judge Onions told Nicholls if the cause of death had been proved as heroin he would have faced a charge of manslaughter.

Mr Leake was well known in Oswestry as a music teacher and talented musician.