Heartbroken parents' plea to young people:

DO NOT PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE BY MIXING DRUGS WITH ALCOHOL

- By SOPHIE DOUGHTY

THE parents of a student who died after taking drugs for the first time have issued a stark message as they urge others not to take the same risk: “Imagine your family waking up on Christmas morning without you there.”

Nathan Pavlovic was one of three undergraduates to lose their lives in Newcastle halls of residents in the space of two days, shortly after arriving in the city for the new academic year, in September 2020.

The 21-year-old, from Halifax in West Yorkshire had taken the Class A drug MDMA.

Every Christmas since, Nathan's devastated parents Alex and Beth have begun their day with a visit to the cemetery visiting their son.

And now, in the run-up to the festive party season, they have made an emotional plea to other young people not to play “Russian roulette” with their lives by mixing drugs and alcohol.

Beth said: “Nathan absolutely loved Christmas, it doesn’t feel like five years since we lost him. He had been drinking with his friends and made a bad decision. Can you 100% say you know what's in that substance you have been offered?