Devastated mother warns of binge drink dangers after her son dies at 28

A tragic young alcoholic who issued a desperate warning to teens of the dangers of binge drinking from his hospital bed has died, it has emerged.

Matthew Stiebrins, 28, began drinking bottles of vodka at the age of 15 with pals before his habit spiralled out of control.

His booze abuse was so bad the alcohol started eating away at his brain and and left with irreversible cirrhosis of the liver.

Speaking from his hospital bed last year Matthew warned young binge-drinkers not to end up like him and said if they did, they will realise too late how precious life really is.

He passed away just three months before his 29th birthday - as doctors grimly predicted - because his organs were so badly damaged.

Matthew's devastated mother Dawn Titterton, 51, echoed her son's warning for youngsters to avoid his mistakes - and keep their drinking under control.

She said: "He suffered so much and so am I. But I hope his story helps someone."

Speaking from his bedside, in February last year, Dawn said: "When he was 15 he got into a crowd that liked going out drinking, like many teenagers do.

"The others grew out of it but Matthew didn't, he didn't stop.

"In the end it just didn't matter what we said - all the warnings we gave.

"He would say 'it's only a few, it won't do me any harm, everyone drinks.'"

She added: "These teenagers say it's boring not to drink but they don't realise that it is slowly affecting their health.

"There's not enough about the dangers of alcohol, always campaigns about smoking and drugs. There is no substitute like nicotine patches for alcoholics.

"Teenagers think they can give it up but their bodies won't let them. You would never have guessed that Matthew would have been the one from his group of friends to become hooked."

Matthew, from Haverhill, Suffolk, began drinking aged 15, started bunking off school to drink and by the time he was 18 he was addicted and shoplifting to fund his habit.

In the months before his death on February 5, this year, he was in and out of Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, and doctors predicted he would not live to see his 29th birthday, on May 4, 2012.

Dawn, who works as a seamstress and remarried after she left Matthew's father ten years ago, said she worried about drugs more than alcohol when her children were young.

Now she is campaigning for more support for alcoholics in a bid to prevent other parents going through similar heartache.