A YOUNG man from Oxford died after intentionally taking a large quantity of heroin, an inquest heard today.

Jack Baldwin, 20, died in the early hours of December 16 at his home address in Headington.

Paramedics were called to the property at around 7.15am after Mr Baldwin’s mother found him unresponsive in his bed.

READ MORE: This is why police were seen outside the Westgate yesterday

There was nothing that paramedics could do to save him, and he was pronounced dead at around 7.25am.

His cause of death was given as respiratory failure as a result of opiate toxicity.

The inquest heard that the levels of morphine found in Mr Baldwin’s blood were consistent with instances of fatal use, even in regular users.

Other substances were found in the 20-year-old’s blood but not at levels that would have contributed to his death.

Thames Valley Police ruled at the time that there was no evidence of third party involvement in the incident, nor were there any suspicious circumstances.

Mr Baldwin, who worked as a bicycle mechanic, had struggled with his mental health and drug addiction.

The inquest heard that he had been receiving support from Turning Point, a drug and alcohol treatment service.

Turning Point operates across Oxfordshire and the team includes a mix of doctors, nurses, psychologists, recovery workers, support workers, complementary therapists, peer mentor volunteers, counsellors, and trainers.

In the period leading up to his death, Mr Baldwin had also been attending appointments with the adult mental health team at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford and he had counselling sessions with a private therapist.

Oxford Coroner’s Court was told that the 20-year-old had been badly affected by the sudden death of his father in 2020 and that his mental health had been deteriorating.

The inquest heard that on November 23 last year, Mr Baldwin had taken a drug overdose with the intent to take his own life.

READ MORE: Republican planning coronation protest fears second arrest

But it was said that he later came to regret this decision.

The inquest heard evidence from a doctor at the Warneford Hospital who explained that after the incident in November there was some improvement in Mr Baldwin’s state of mind and that he was responding well to treatment.

Oxfordshire’s senior coroner Darren Salter told the inquest that it was not possible to know for certain whether Mr Baldwin had taken the heroin with the intent to end his own life.

But he explained that on the balance of probabilities, the correct conclusion for the inquest was suicide.

Mr Salter said: “I think based on what he did before, it is more probable than not that he did decide to end his life.”

The Samaritans helpline is available 24 hours on 116 123.