A CORONER has issued a stark warning against the use of cannabis following the tragic suicide of a young father.

Mark Haskett, 22, of Norbreck Drive in Cleveleys, died after throwing himself under the wheels of a train close to Carleton Crossing on March 8, this year.

His suicide came just eight days after the birth of his son. Mark never met his child.

A jury of eight people heard evidence from witnesses and family during an inquest held in Blackpool on Thursday, May 29.

Mark was described to the hearing by his father, Roy, and brother, Stephen, as a sensitive, academically-gifted loner and was believed to have been using cannabis for a number of months.

And he had been showing signs of mental illness following the death of his uncle from cancer and the unplanned pregnancy of an ex-girlfriend, Katherine 'Kat' Fearon.

Mark, a McDonalds restaurant floor manager, died eight days after the birth of their baby, Joshua Daniel.

Found alongside his body was a bottle of Smirnoff vodka and a small quantity of what is thought to have been cannabis resin. A note had been left in his bedroom.

Offering words of comfort to Mark's family Blackpool Coroner, Anne Hinds, spoke of a "tragic tale" of a sensitive young man.

But she warned of the effects that cannabis may have on users and of dangers in relaxing attitudes towards the drug.

Ms Hinds said: "This is such a tragic tale of a lovely young man's life which held such promise for the future, and which ended before it even seems to have begun.

"From what we've been told, it is true to say that Mark was a sensitive, thoughtful person and often it is these people who are less able to cope with stress than other, more robust, people.

"It is sad that Mark turned to cannabis as a way of dealing with his problems and it is much to the credit of his brother that he did his best to dissuade him from this.

"But it seems there has been a lessening of the previously stricter attitudes towards this drug in recent years.

"It is now to be perceived to be the more harmless of the illegal drugs which some people take, but this is not the case.

"Cannabis, as with any other mind-altering substance, always causes more problems than it solves and, sadly, Mark's case seems to be proof of this."