‘Kind and loving’ 33-year-old whose death was drug-related ‘wanted to get better’

The family of a “kind, loving and thoughtful” Lynn man who died as a result of taking multiple drugs and alcohol said this was “not a reflection on his life”.On November 27 last year, James Spaans was staying at a friend’s house on Highgate in Lynn, an inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court has today heard.Later that evening, he was found lying on the bathroom floor by that friend – who then called the emergency services.

Paramedics arrived and declared 33-year-old James dead at the scene.Senior coroner for Norfolk Jacqueline Lake came to the short-form conclusion that it was a drug-related death.A statement provided by James’ father Paul Spaans was read out in court. The statement said that James had a happy childhood, attending Dersingham Primary School and Smithdon High School in Hunstanton before going on to work as a safety contractor.Mr Spaans described his son as a “happy boy with a fantastic personality” who regularly took part in swimming galas and was a member of the Sea Cadets. He said his son “enjoyed work and was loving life working in Norfolk” until they became aware that James had started taking drugs.The court heard that initially, he wasn’t taking drugs all of the time as he was still working.Mr Spaans said that his son was “up and down” with his behaviour, but was trying to be positive about his drug problems. The statement added: “He was associating with the wrong people, they were using him for their own means.”The court heard that James then met a friend who was a “positive influence on his life” who helped him.In the last year of his life, James had started using alcohol and would have some in the mornings to stop his hands from shaking.His father said he thought this was “strange” as his son previously said that he didn’t like alcohol. He added that his son was a “genuinely nice person” whose “lifestyle wasn’t reflective of him”.“We believe that he wanted to get better. He came from a loving family, and for this to happen to him was very sad. He will be missed by those who knew the true James,” the statement added.The court heard that James had referred himself to receive help from the organisation Change Grow Live (CGL) in September last year.He wanted to get help with managing his alcohol and cocaine use to control his behaviour in the community after being involved in the criminal justice system. A statement provided to the court by CGL complex needs practitioner Holly Tomlins said that James was “engaging well” with appointments made.The statement said: “It is tragic just before James died, he found motivation to change.”Emergency services were called to the address of James’ friend on November 27 at around 11.45pm.Paramedics arrived and pronounced James dead at the scene. Police arrived shortly after and searched the address – no drugs or drug-related paraphernalia were found.They spoke to James’ friend, who said that he had been out during the day helping to look after another friend’s horses.He came back to the house, where he had been staying off and on for a few months, before leaving again to get fish and chips.James returned to the address at around 10pm and his friend reported hearing him “pottering around” the house. The friend hadn’t heard James moving for a while, so decided to go and check on him.The inquest heard that he found James lying on the bathroom floor.Results of a post-mortem report showed that James had ethanol (an alcohol indicator), cocaine and ketamine in his system.James’ cause of death was identified as cardio-respiratory arrest as a result of multiple drug toxicity.