A MAN who took formerly legal highs in a bid to cope with his mental health problems is the fourth person known to have died after taking methoxphenidine.

The drug – in the form of a white powder known as MXP to users – was found in Stephen Young’s pocket after his death on February 7 this year.

Mr Young, who was 46, was found slumped on a sofa at his home in Garland Road, Poole, by a neighbour.

At an inquest into his death heard at Bournemouth Coroner's Court, former partner Anna-Marie Byrne said: “I believe legal highs caused his death.

“I do not believe he could have taken an overdose.

“The legal highs gave him the same calming effect as Ritalin.”

Mr Young suffered from severe OCD, which at one point left him confined to his home and unable to venture even into the garden for five years, Ms Byrne said.

He also had a form of ADHD.

His illnesses made him “a bit erratic and chaotic”, Ms Byrne said.

However, she said that Mr Young was “really positive” in the time before his death, adding that she was “100 per cent” sure that Mr Young wouldn’t have taken an overdose.

Mr Young was living in a bedsit owned by charity Two Saints at the time of his death, but had hoped to live with Ms Byrne and his daughter again.

Detective Inspector Joan Carmichael, of Dorset Police, said two packets of white powder were found in Mr Young’s pockets.

One contained less than half a gram of 3-fluorophenmetrazine, or 3-FPM, while the second held 2.43g of MXP, a so-called ‘designer drug’ linked to three recorded deaths.

Police investigating Mr Young’s death were unable to find out where he had bought the high from.

Recording a verdict of death as a consequence of abuse of drugs, Coroner Sheriff Payne said he had considered whether Mr Young had intended to take his own life.

“There is insufficient evidence for me to come to that conclusion,” he said.