A YOUNG mum, who was at the centre of a major police investigation following the mystery death of her 38-week-old baby, died after taking a heroin overdose.

Miss Rachel Scull was discovered by her boyfriend Andrew Marrs on the living room floor of their home in Victoria Avenue, Whitefield, on August 16.

Mr Marrs died five weeks later in similar circumstances. He had moved to a flat in Kersal Close, Prestwich, where he was found dead on September 26.

However, separate inquests held on Friday (Jan 5) into the couple's deaths, concluded that the known drug abusers died accidentally after taking a quantity of heroin more potent than their tolerance levels could resist. Both had made attempts to beat their heroin addiction, the inquest heard.

The inquest into Miss Scull's death heard how the 22-year-old had given birth to five children.

Her first child, Bobby, died when he was 20-weeks-old from sudden infant death syndrome. As a result, Miss Scull and her three subsequent children, Rees, Callum and Connor, were put on the social services' "at risk" register.

However, the sudden death of Connor in January of last year sparked an investigation by detectives who were concerned about the circumstances in which the dead toddler was found.

An inquest into the tragedy failed to establish how Connor died and, although there was no evidence of neglect or injury to the baby and no prosecution against his mum, coroner Mr Barrie Williams criticised Miss Scull's poor standards of care which "fell below the acceptable level".

Miss Scull was pregnant with her fifth child at the time of Connor's inquest.

Her three surviving children have been placed in care by the social services prior to Miss Scull's own death.

Her drug habits and her association with 33-year-old Mr Marrs, a known heroin abuser, prompted the care order.

Tests carried out on the bodies of the couple showed that Mr Marrs had taken a fatal dose of heroin while Miss Scull had injected herself with a non-lethal amount of the drug.

Concluding Friday's inquest, coroner Mr Williams said he was satisfied that the tragic deaths of Miss Scull and Mr Marrs were drug-related and recorded verdicts of accidental death.