THE death of a Dudley dad prompted a warning from the Black Country coroner about the dangers of drug abuse.

An inquest into the death of Andrew Harper, aged 48, heard the father-of-one’s body contained dangerously high levels of morphine derived from heroin.

Mr Harper, who was an insulin dependent diabetic, had battled heroin addiction for two decades and as he recorded a conclusion of death due to drug abuse, coroner Robin Balmain spelled out the potentially lethal consequences.

Mr Balmain gave the medical cause of death as heroin toxicity and told the hearing, at Sandwell coroner’s court: “The message is these drugs will probably kill you.”

The court was told Mr Harper, from Cochrane Road, had been free from heroin in the months prior to his death and taking the substitute drug methadone.

He was found collapsed at his father’s flat in Kenilworth Road, Dudley, on March 12 by his dad Arthur Harper.

Mr Harper described his son as a “nice, quiet chap” and added he was surprised Andrew had returned to taking heroin.

The court also heard Andrew had complained of feeling unwell in the days before his death.