Teenager’s suicide after drug arrest

Published on 24/02/2013 00:00

A TEENAGE lacrosse star killed himself after he was summoned to court for
possessing cannabis worth 50p, an inquest heard 
yesterday.

Former head boy Edward Thornber was found hanged on 15 September, 2011.

Two days earlier, the 17-year-old had received an order to appear in court 
after being court smoking the drug in Cornwall, but a law firm acting on behalf 
of his family say the teenager should have only been given a warning.

A student at Loreto College in Manchester, Edward had been head boy at The Barlow RC High School in Didsbury and was hoping to coach lacrosse in America before going to university.

However, he had been caught smoking cannabis with a friend earlier that summer while on holiday in Newquay.

It was the second time he had been caught with the drug.

At the town’s police station, he agreed to accept a “final warning”, which he believed would not result in him having a criminal record or jeopardise his chances of pursuing a lacrosse career in the US.

However, his family’s solicitor at law firm Pannone LLP says Devon and Cornwall Police made a series of errors following his arrest.

A spokesman for Pannone said: “All in all there were at least seven opportunities to spot and rectify the error that were missed.

“An internal report by the force has recommended a number of significant changes to procedures.”