Bereaved mum says more education needed on dangers of drugs
17-year-old, Will Horley, died in 2018 after he suffered a fatal reaction to the drug Tramadol on a night out.
Last updated 11th Apr 2025
A mum from Kent - whose son died after taking drugs - has told us it's vital parents talk to their children about the dangers.
17-year-old, Will Horley, died in 2018 after he suffered a fatal reaction to the drug Tramadol on a night out.
His mum, Kim Webster is from Herne Bay , she said: "There are three sets of teenagers. There are those that will always dabble, those who will never touch it and those who are at a party or a festival, and get offered something and think 'Go on then, I'll just give it a go'
"And those are there people who need to be reached so it's about talking about these things to them, and letting them know if they get offered something, is it really worth them taking that risk as drugs are just so potent these days, it's just scary, really scary."
It comes after an inquest into the death of a teenage girl, who suffered a cardiac arrest after attending a Kent music festival, was ruled as drug related yesterday.
Emily Stokes died in June 2024 at Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital after attending a gig a Dreamland in Margate - with a further 21 teenagers taken to hospital with drug-related symptoms following the event.
During the proceedings, Coroner Catherine Wood admitted the medical staff at the festival were not trained sufficiently to be able to cope with those who had taken drugs, however she could not say if the alleged failings did cause or minimally contribute to Emily death.
Instead, MDMA toxicity was ruled as the cause of death, with Coroner Wood telling the court that "It was likely the die was cast when Emily took the MDMA tablet and the outcome was going to be the same as this was a fatal dose.
It's believes Emily took an MDMA pill before the festival and was then captured by CCTV, during the event, putting something into her mouth and drinking water.