A FORMER UCLan student hanged himself in a hotel room after taking ‘fatal’ levels of heroin, an inquest heard.

Damian Michael Graham, 29, was found dead by a housekeeper in room 203 of Blackburn town centre’s Premier Inn on January 16.

After initially struggling to get into Mr Graham’s bedroom, the cleaner walked in to find Mr Graham’s 'cold' body, the inquest heard.

She shouted for colleagues and an ambulance was called but she said it was “impossible” to perform any resuscitation on the 'lifeless' Mr Graham.

The inquest heard Mr Graham had initially booked a single-night stay at the Premier Inn on January 14, but decided to stay an extra night on January 15.

He told the cleaners not to clean his room and was not seen by hotel staff again.

Detective Inspector Paul Barlow, of Blackburn CID, who was called to the scene of Mr Graham’s death, said there were no injuries or assaults to suggest third-party involvement.

Pathologist Dr Deepa Jacob, who carried out the post-mortem examination, said the medical cause of death was hanging and raised morphine levels.

Following a toxicology report, Mr Jacob said he believed Mr Graham’s death occurred shortly after he took the heroin he and found 'toxic levels' of morphine in his blood system.

For seven years Mr Graham, who was born in Blackburn in April 1988, battled with mental health issues and drug addiction and three times he attempted to take his own life.

According to Mr Graham’s GP records, his mood swings were first reported in 2011 after he went to see various mental health specialists but there was no suggestion of suicidal thoughts at that time.

He met with drug and alcohol service Inspire’s recovery manager in April 2016 after he had overdosed on heroin and suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

He was offered support with detox and recovery and weeks later was reported to be feeling much ‘brighter’ and openly talked about his plans for a future career.

Speaking to a mental health specialist about a potential relapse, Mr Graham said: “Danger of what? That was the past.”

However, Mr Graham relapsed on December 4 last year and was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital after he had taken steps to end his own life, although Mr Graham claimed he did not have enough heroin to do it.

On Christmas Eve, Mr Graham, of Ashworth Close, Blackburn, left his home saying he was going away for a few days and ended up back at the hospital after he had relapsed. Mr Graham was later discharged from hospital again on January 10.

It was agreed with Mr Graham’s mother, Tracy, that he would return home but her son never went back to Ashworth Close and instead stayed at hotels in the area, never giving the health specialists a fixed address.

Tracy contacted her son by text and prompted him to get in touch with the mental health team, but he said told his mother to reschedule their next appointment, and she last heard from her son on the morning of January 15.

Reading a conclusion that Mr Graham had committed suicide, coroner James Newman described Mr Graham’s death as a tragedy and added mental health issues and drugs were the two biggest demons in modern society.

Mr Newman said: “The tragedy is Damian had completed detoxification which is a statement to his own strength but tragically relapsed. My sincerest condolences to the family. I hope he and the family can find peace.”