Victim of North Yorks drug death named (From York Press)

Victim of North Yorks drug death named

2:40pm Tuesday 23rd March 2010 in The Menace of Mephedrone

The victim of a suspected drugs-death in North Yorkshire has been named by her family as Lois Waters.

The 24-year-old was found dead at a friend's house in her home town of Norton yesterday.

Police say she had taken mephedrone in the 48 hours preceding her death. A full toxociology investigation is being carried out and officers are trying to work out what role, if any, mephedrone played in her death. There has been growing controversy over the danger drug, which The Press has been campaigning in recent months to have banned.

Miss Waters's mother Alison said her daughter was a "really lovely girl".

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Costello, who is leading the inquiry, said family and friends have told him she had been taking the drug in the 48-hour period leading up to her death, possibly with other substances.

Miss Waters's death follows those of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, who died in the Scunthorpe area last week following a night out.

The deaths prompted criticism of the Government for not doing more to tackle the threat from mephedrone - also known as M-Cat or Miaow Miaow - which is manufactured as plant fertiliser.

Mr Costello said the Waters family was "devastated" by Lois's death.

He said: "Her friends and family are all very cut up - devastated, as you would imagine. People think this kind of thing happens to other people in the big cities but this is not always the case."

Mr Costello said police were called to a house in Norton just after 9am on Monday. He said it was a friend's house, where Miss Waters had been staying. Officers have been told she had been at the address since the early hours of Sunday morning.

He said his officers have been told she had been taking mephedrone over the weekend but he is still trying to work out whether she was at friends' homes or in local pubs. Mr Costello said other substances have been recovered but he is not yet in a position to say what they are.

The Press launched its Menace of Mephedrone campaign in January, calling for the drug to be outlawed.

Mrs Waters was visibly emotional as she spoke about her daughter at a family member's home in Norton today.

She said: "Lois was a really lovely girl, she was really quiet. That's all I can really say about her at the moment."