Footballer died after friend gave him heroin injection

AN amateur footballer collapsed and died after his friend gave him a fatal injection of heroin.

Michael Drew, 26, began jumping around after a jag into the back of his hand, slapping his arm and shouting: "It's brilliant", a court heard.

But soon after his first experiment with injecting heroin he collapsed into a coma and never recovered consciousness.

Neil Pollock, 27, who dialled 999 to bring emergency services to his home in Haddington, East Lothian, blurted out: "I killed him. It was me. It was my fault," when police began to question him.

But at the High Court in Edinburgh he tried to blame a local drug dealer who he said was the source of the heroin.

Yesterday Pollock collapsed weeping in the dock when a jury found him guilty of culpable homicide.

The trial heard how the two men both worked cleaning windows.

Former chef and Dunbar United player Michael Drew, 26, of Vert Court, Haldane Avenue, Haddington, regularly snorted cocaine but was desperate to try heroin and had never injected the drug before.

Friends said that at the time of his death in April last year he was depressed – possibly because of his cocaine use, possibly because he was worried about his pregnant girlfriend.

Pollock and Mr Drew met up on the morning of April 19 and began drinking strong lager.

Mr Drew also took valium tablets and liquid diazepam as well as the heroin substitute methadone.

Then Pollock yielded to his friend's request for a share of a "wrap" of heroin.

"He went on and on and on and on about taking smack," distraught Pollock told police.

The trial heard that after a post mortem examination, doctors signed a death certificate saying the cause of death was "unascertained" pending lab tests.

Another death certificate was issued in October, blaming methadone for killing Mr Drew because forensic scientists found almost no trace of heroin.

Then in December – after a meeting with the local procurator fiscal – the death certificate was changed again.

Pathologist Professor Anthony Busuttil explained to the court that Mr Drew had survived long enough for his body to eliminate signs of the fatal heroin.

"In my view the heroin has killed this young man. The presence of Methadone has aided and abetted the death. He may well have survived without the taking of heroin," said the professor.

Defence advocate Drew McKenzie told the jury: "The fact that someone has died in tragic circumstances does not mean someone has to pay for it.

"Michael Drew exercised his own choice in taking that combination of drugs."

Pollock, of Riverside Drive, Haddington, was remanded in custody after the jury's majority verdict. He is due to be sentenced next month when background reports have been prepared.

He was convicted of unlawfully supplying potentially lethal drugs – methadone and heroin – to Mr Drew and administering an intravenous injection of heroin "all to the danger of his health, safety and life" and killing him.