Tragedy as Wigan man died after taking drug ketamine and falling into the canal

A coroner compared taking drugs to “a game of chemical Russian roulette” after the death of a popular Wigan man.
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Matthew Dutton, known as Matt, fell into the canal at Rose Bridge as he walked home from the pub after watching a football match with friends on Sunday, August 23.

The 22-year-old had been drinking alcohol and had taken drug ketamine.

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It was not known exactly when Matt fell into the water or what happened, but his body was recovered three days later by the police.

Matthew DuttonMatthew Dutton
Matthew Dutton

At an inquest this afternoon, senior coroner Timothy Brennand said: “Taking any substances that have the potential to incapacitate you, to confuse you, to disorientate you, whether that’s an excess of alcohol or seeking the pursuit of a transient drug-induced high, is akin to playing a game of chemical Russian roulette.”

The inquest, held at Bolton Coroner’s Court, heard apprentice plumber Matt spent the evening with friends at the Oak Tree Inn in Ince.

He watched the Champions’ League final, had several alcoholic drinks and took ketamine in the car park.

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Friend Michael Reardon said they sniffed the drug in Matt’s car and were both “extremely intoxicated” due to the alcohol and ketamine.

They had taken the drug together before, he said, and it sometimes caused Matt to “black out”.

Matt was said to be “staggering” and the pub’s licensee Nicola Fishwick told police she took his car keys to ensure he did not drive.

Mr Reardon could not remember leaving the pub on Belle Green Lane, but CCTV footage showed him and Matt walking out together.

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They turned right onto Pennington Lane and went to Manchester Road.

A passing motorist described Matt as “walking like a robot”, struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

The pair separated and the last sighting of Matt was as he walked along Manchester Road towards the canal at 10.25pm.

Mr Reardon said he tried to call Matt later, but his phone rang once and then went off.

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Records later showed Matt’s phone was disconnected just before 11pm, but it was not known if he turned it off, the battery died or it was in the water.

The alarm was raised the next day and members of the North West Underwater Search and Marine Team searched the Leeds-Liverpool Canal on August 25 and 26.

Matt’s body was found in the water at lock 79 at Rose Bridge on the morning of Wednesday, August 26.

A post-mortem examination found he died by drowning, with no evidence of anyone else being involved or that Matt had tried to climb out of the water.

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Toxicology results found he had consumed alcohol and a potentially lethal amount of ketamine.

The inquest heard ketamine is a “dissociative” anaesthetic drug used in human, but mostly veterinary, medicine. It could have caused Matt to suffer from dizziness, delirium and hallucinations.

Mr Brennand concluded that Matt’s death was accidental and that he became “incapacitated, confused and disorientated” due to his “self-induced intoxication” and fell into the water.

Referring to Matt’s parents, Mr Brennand said: “The use of ketamine, so far as their son is concerned, has led to this tragedy. If that is the learning that is to be rolled out, and if one person understands as a consequence of reading or hearing of the evidence at this inquest, then at least some good will come of this being in the public domain.”

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