‘The inactions of the adults on that camp site were irresponsible and unacceptable’ - coroner
DRUNK adults on a camp site where an epileptic teenager died after taking ecstasy have been slammed by a coroner for their ‘irresponsible and unacceptable’ lack of action when he fell ill.
Joshua Connolly-Teale was found unresponsive in a tent he had been sharing with friends on Syke Moors in Rochdale after taking a ‘red teddy bear’ tablet, thought to have contained MDMA.
A parent of one of the boys, Joanne Pownall, had been ‘morally and ethically’ responsible for the 16-year-old’s welfare, along with her friends Natalie Horridge and Paul Dalton, a coroner said.
An inquest into Joshua’s death heard Ms Pownall – who had drunk ‘five or six cans of lager’ – failed to recognise the teenager was suffering the ill effects of drugs and, thinking he was drunk, put him in a tent to ‘sleep it off’ before he died.
Ms Pownall, who said she didn’t ring Joshua’s parents because she didn’t want to ‘get him into trouble’, was criticised by a coroner for failing to raise the alarm.
Ms Horridge and Mr Dalton said they didn’t know the group of young friends had taken drugs and admitted in court they had been ‘too intoxicated’ to clearly recall events of the night of Joshua’s death.
Following the hearing at Rochdale Coroners’ Court, coroner Lisa Hashmi said of the three adults: “They should not have been so drunk they didn’t know what was going on.”
She said they were guilty of ‘gross failures to provide basic care and emergency treatment for Joshua’.
“The inactions of the adults on that camp site were irresponsible and unacceptable,” Ms Hashmi added.
Earlier, a police officer told the inquest: “I do feel Josh was neglected in that tent, but I could not arrest anyone for it.”
The court earlier heard Ms Pownall had agreed to let her son and a group of his friends – including Joshua – join her and her pals on a camping trip in a field near Dewhirst Road on the hot summer’s evening of Friday, May 25.
The boys had taken a ‘red teddy bear’ pill, thought to have contained MDMA, shortly before arriving at the campsite around 11pm, the inquest was told.
It is believed that shortly before the boys’ arrival at the campsite, Joshua – who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2015 – had suffered a seizure.
In a police statement, Joshua was described as having ‘collapsed’ before being seen ‘shaking uncontrollably’.
The court heard the teenagers entered the camp site, where they met Ms Pownall, who said the boys were having to hold Joshua up and carry him.
When asked by coroner Ms Hashmi if this gave her cause for concern, Ms Pownall replied: “Not particularly.”
Ms Pownall told the hearing she believed Joshua had had too much to drink, but didn’t ring his parents because she didn’t want to get him into trouble.
She said that none of the behaviour had ‘raised any alarms.’
After telling the boys to put Joshua in a tent, where she hoped he would ‘sleep it off’, Ms Pownall said she carried on drinking with other members of her group, before going to bed at around 3.30am.
She said that before turning in, she opened the tent and saw all four boys ‘asleep’.
Ms Pownall said the next thing she remembered was being woken by screams from her son, who said Joshua ‘wasn’t breathing’.
Paramedics were scrambled to the camp site, but Joshua was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
A post mortem revealed Joshua died as a result of MDMA toxicity, contributed to by bronchopneumonia, epilepsy and asthma.
Ms Pownall told the hearing: “I got a call from my son about 10.30pm saying that Josh had had a few. I think he said that Josh was ‘steaming,’ which I took to mean he was very drunk.
“When they arrived at the campsite they were holding Josh up.
“I didn’t want Josh to get into trouble. If for one second I thought they had taken something I would have taken them to the infirmary myself.
“I told the boys to put him in the tent and that we would check on him.
“At 3.30am I opened the tent and they were all in their sleeping bags. I couldn’t see who was who but I thought they were okay.
“Nothing alarms.”
Joshua’s devastated mother, Joanne Teale described her son as a ‘funny,’ ‘loving’ and ‘witty’ young lad who was ‘full of joy.’
“My son was left to die alone in that tent,” she told the hearing.
“He was halfway through his GCSEs. We later found out that he had passed them all and got into college to do gaming.
“We were so looking forward to him finishing his exams – we had so many plans.”
Ms Teale said her son had issues with bullying at school and believed he had got into the wrong crowd in order to fit in.
“Josh had a degree of raised any vulnerability and I think he was naive,” she said.
On Friday May 25, Ms Teale said her son had been feeling the pressure of his GCSEs and asked to go camping with his friends for the night.
“The only reason he was allowed to go was because he told us that there was going to be adults there,” she said.
“At 10.30pm that night I rang him and got no answer. We assumed that he was asleep.
“As soon as we woke up the following morning we were going to text him. I had that gut feeling that there was something wrong.”
Detective Insp Lee Hopwood said that the boys had taken ecstasy and that Joshua had begun to suffer the ill effects.
“They said that Josh had an epileptic seizure just before they arrived at the camp.
“He collapsed to the floor and was shaking uncontrollably.”
Insp Hopwood told the hearing that once a person reaches 16, they are no longer protected by law under parental responsibility.
“Had Josh been under 16, I would have arrested the adults there and then,” he said.
“I do feel Josh was neglected in that tent but I could not arrest anyone for it.”
Insp Hopwood confirmed that earlier allegations that Josh had purchased the drugs were untrue and said that a police investigation into the supply remained ongoing.
Recording a conclusion of misadventure, Ms Hashmi said: “Whilst parental responsibility stops at 16, I would say there was a moral and ethical responsibility to not only give assistance but to keep a far closer eye on Josh.
“Knowing there were young people in the camp should have set a better example.
“They should not have been so drunk they didn’t know what was going on.
“I find it really sad that a wonderful young person as Josh has died in these tragic circumstances.”
Joshua’s parents now plan to set up a campaign to raise the age of parental responsibility to 18 as they believe their son was denied adequate care on that night.