A TEENAGER collapsed after taking a fatal ecstasy overdose at a party, an inquest heard.

Stamford Bridge Griffin and a friend were walking to his home in Kingsway, Hereford, after spending the evening with friends in Whitecross when he collapsed in Old School Lane in the early hours of the morning on July 13 last year.

The two teenagers were spotted at the roadside by an off-duty A&E nurse while on her way home from a shift.

Julia Davy said she had seen a teenage boy standing by the road as she drove towards Old School Lane just before 3am.

As she approached, she noticed 17-year-old Stamford lying on the ground and stopped to see if she could help the two young men.

Stamford’s friend told Ms Davy that they had spent the evening drinking alcohol, but did not say they had taken anything else before Stamford’s collapse.

An ambulance was called and Stamford was rushed to hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and later died.

Consultant histopathologist Dr Paul Geddy told the inquest that blood samples taken showed levels of MDMA sufficient to cause an overdose.

A post-mortem examination revealed other symptoms consistent with an overdose of the drug.

The inquest heard that Stamford had been ‘up and down’ since leaving the party, and that his condition had begun to deteriorate as the pair walked along Old School Lane, where he eventually collapsed at the roadside.

The friend did not immediately call an ambulance, but instead filmed Stamford as he lay on the ground and sent the video to friends asking what he should do.

He told the coroner that he was aware Stamford used drugs, and that he had told medical professionals they had only consumed alcohol at the party as he did not want anyone to get into trouble.

Another friend, who had been with Stamford the night before his death, said he was also aware that Stamford used drugs, and that he had been taking MDMA.

Stamford’s father, Mark Griffin, said the family did not blame anyone for their son’s death.

“Stamford was a big lad, and he knew what he was doing,” he said. “We have had a lot of help and support from family, friends, the police and others, and we just want it to be over.”

Assistant coroner for Herefordshire Roland Wooderson concluded that Stamford died from an overdose of MDMA. He recorded a drug-related death.