THE tragic death of a talented young Bury man was a warning to others of the risks of dabbling in drugs, an inquest was told.

Ross Chant, aged 29, of Greenhill Road, Bury, was found unconscious by his mother in his loft bedroom with a syringe nearby. He was certified dead at Fairfield General Hospital. Bury District Coroner Mr Simon Nelson said that it was not the relatively small amount of heroin he had injected which caused his death but it did lead to it after Ross choked on his own vomit.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, Mr Nelson said Ross was a loving son in a close and stable family who had left himself open to temptation. He said that Ross's family had little inkling of his drug abuse.

Mr Nelson said: "Ross was an intelligent young man. I can imagine the shock to members of his family when, after his death, certain elements of drugs paraphernalia were discovered."

He continued: "If this inquiry serves anything it will be to emphasise the tragic risks of ingesting or injecting heroin even in quantities as small as this."

Ross, a former pupil at Chantlers Primary and the Derby High School, Bury, Ross attended London Guildhill University where he studied politics before switching to Manchester Metropolitan University to take an English language degree with the intention of teaching English to students in Thailand.

According to a friend, Ross would be determined not to use heroin but would be frequently tempted by an unscrupulous dealer who would ring him up.

Ross's mother Mrs Wendy Chant told the coroner: "Ross was a lovely caring boy and we were all very close. There were no tell-tale signs, no change of mood, no erratic behaviour, to suggest drug use."

Ross's friend, Larry Dilger, from Radcliffe, said that although Ross would stop taking drugs for periods, a bad result at college would make him vulnerable to temptation. He said that people offered Ross drugs because they knew he would pay. He added that Ross would never lie or steal to get drugs. "He was the best person that I've met in the world," Mr Dilger said in a statement.

Mrs Chant said after the inquest: "We hope that if the coroner's message about the abuse of drugs gets home to others, then Ross's life will not have been in vain."