Yahoo News Mum's devastation at losing son she describes as 'love of my life'
A mum has described the moment police knocked on her door to tell her that her son had been found dead at a friend's house.
Marine engineer Albie Marriott was on home leave when he went out in Euxton with friends on the night of December 21 last year. The 26-year-old would spend "months at sea at a time" before returning home.
At one point during the night, as Albie made his way back to a friend's house, he was seen collecting something from an individual in a car, which his friends later presumed to be drugs.
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After returning to his friend's house, in Chiltern Avenue, Albie carried on drinking and the group eventually all went to bed. The following morning, Albie's friend found him "curled up and not breathing" and he was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.
At an inquest, held at Preston Coroner's Court, Albie's mum Faith described how she had not been aware he took recreational drugs. However, after her son's death, she questioned his friends who admitted they occasionally consumed cocaine and ketamine while on a night out.
"He wasn't a frequent user," Faith, who was accompanied by Albie's sister Alicia, said. "He was away for months at a time as a marine engineer. His friends have since disclosed that as a group they would take a few drugs together."
A post mortem revealed that the cause of Albie's death was multi drug toxicity. Substances in his system included cocaine, ketamine and diazepam, as well as alcohol.
The inquest heard that the concomitant use of drugs such as those Albie had taken can increase the risk of death and result in profound respiratory depression and a potentially fatal slow heart rate.
Although Albie had some minor injuries to his face detectives from Lancashire Constabulary concluded there was no evidence of third-party involvement or any suspicious circumstances.
Returning a conclusion of misadventure - the unintended consequences of an intended act - Assistant Coroner Richard Taylor said: "Albie Arthur Marriott died on December 22, 2023, at Chiltern Avenue in Euxton, having ingested an excess of drugs."
After the inquest, Albie's mum Faith revealed that, although he would spend months at sea at a time, he was "always given a game" by his beloved Euxton Cricket Club when he returned home.
"At home he was always very quiet and very loving, he was a bit of a mummy's boy," Faith told LancsLive. "He knew I always worried about him but there were obviously two sides to him.
"His friends said he was the life and soul of the party and I saw a video of him singing karaoke. He never sang!"
Faith issued a warning to other young people about the dangers of taking illegal drugs. "You never really know what is in them or what they're mixed with," she said.
"If I had known what he was planning on doing that night I would have made sure he stopped in. He was the love of my life.
"He was due to return to sea the next day so going out that night was so unlike him. When the police knocked on my door that morning the first thing I said was 'please don't tell me something has happened to Albie'."
After Albie's death, Euxton Cricket Club described him as a "legend" and posted on Instagram: "A man for all occasions who never complicated the game by thinking about it too much.
"Our thoughts are with his family as this incredibly difficult time. Rest in Peace Albs you’ll get a bat again soon don’t worry."
