WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY
The heartbroken sister of a teenager who died after taking ecstasy has posted a picture of her brother on a life support machine moments before he passed away as a warning to others about the dangers of drugs.
James Yates collapsed when he swallowed the class A drug, which doctors say was mixed with unknown substances, during a night out on Monday.
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The 19-year-old suffered organ failure and was rushed to hospital - but died on Tuesday morning.
Now James' devastated sister, Natalie Taylor, has shared a photograph of him in a coma to show the 'reality of drugs'.
In a post on Facebook, Natalie, 27, wrote: "Please stay away from them, don't use, don't sell, just stay away.
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"This is what happened to my brother because of drugs, they are dangerous and as you can see he's on life support here. This was not long before he passed away!
"The drugs made his organs fail, he had internal bleeding, he had to be resuscitated three times and then in the end had no blood pressure, and no medicines were working for him.
"The drug he was given was ecstasy and doctors say it was mixed with something else but they don't know what as of yet!
"He was a very vulnerable adult and had a few problems and was given these drugs so think twice before you give or sell to people knowing the effects it can have on people and knowing that it cost us my brother's life at 19 years old!!
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"He should still be with us if it wasn't for people handing out drugs like they are sweets, and us as his family having to see James in this state, heavily sedated. Words cannot describe how heart wrenching this all is. I just hope he's at peace now!
"It's not goodbye, James, we're just separated by time and distance. We'll see you again one day and I know you're always with us. We all love you with all our hearts, sleep tight."
James, of Old Whittington, Derbyshire, suffered from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which Natalie said made him 'vulnerable'.
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She described her brother as a 'happy person who just wanted to have fun', and said his death had left the family in 'complete devastation'.
Natalie, of Chesterfield, said: "If anyone is thinking about getting involved with drugs, please don't. James is proof that drugs can kill. He wasn't a drug addict, it only takes one time."
She added that if 'just one person turns their lives around' after seeing James' story, 'it would be worth it'.
Topics: UK News, Drugs, Health