Birmingham mum used son’s inhaler ‘to smoke drugs’ before he died from asthma attack

A mum addicted to heroin and crack cocaine used her son’s inhaler to smoke drugs before he suffered a fatal asthma attack, a court heard.

Laura Heath, 39, has gone on trial at Coventry Crown Court charged with manslaughter following the death of her son Hakeem Hussain, 7, in November 2017.

Heartbreaking photos released by West Midlands Police show the “squalid” conditions Hakeem lived in and are said to show his asthma pumps wrapped in foil next to "drug paraphernalia".

Hakeem’s body was found in near-freezing conditions in the garden of a house on Cook Street, in Nechells, Birmingham, the court heard.

Two ambulances and a paramedic rushed to the scene at 7.30am on November 26, 2017 but the schoolboy sadly could not be saved.

‘Fatally neglected’

Drug addict Heath is accused of fatally neglecting her son which included exposing him to heroin and crack cocaine.

The court was told how she would "source heroin and crack cocaine” as her “first priority in life" ahead of the welfare of her young son.

The seven-year-old was also made to sleep on a sofa in squalid conditions, while his jumper smelled of urine and his school uniform reeked of cigarettes, jurors were told.

Further photographs shown to the jury show two cramped houses cluttered full of rubbish where Heath and her son stayed.

Heath and Hakeem had moved from a property on Long Acre to a house on Cook Street and went back and forth between the two.

Further images released by police show piles of bags and boxes piled inside a cot, along with other "unclean" rooms which were said to have "smelled of raw smoke."

The court heard that Hakeem’s breathing got worse "day by day" and the night before he was found dead he had gone outside alone to get some air.

No medication was found alongside his body and a post-mortem concluded that his cause of death was acute exacerbation of asthma.

Hakeem was known to social services

Hakeem was known to social services and was classed as "vulnerable" due to concerns about "neglect, attendance issues and his home life".

A child protection meeting was held two days before his death where a school nurse had warned the seven-year-old was at risk of dying and should be removed from his mum.

However, it was decided he should not be taken from his mother’s care, despite him being at “serious risk of harm”.

Friends also told the court how they witnessed Heath smoking class A drugs while Hakeem was feeling ill in the next room, just 24 hours before he died.

Heath, of no fixed address, denies gross negligence manslaughter.

She has admitted four counts of child cruelty relating to neglect by failing to provide him with proper medical supervision and exposing him to heroin and crack cocaine.

The trial is still ongoing.