If proof were needed of the scourge of drugs in our society, the tragic case of Christopher Preece provides it in abundance.

The teenager was a talented musician, a promising cook, a successful member of the Sea Cadet Corps — in fact, according to his family, he did well at everything he tried.

His crowning glory came at the age of 16 when he was appointed a Lord Lieutenant Cadet, an award which entitled him to accompany the Lord Lieutenant on his official engagements around the county.

It is an honour given in recognition of outstanding service to the Cadet movement.

Yet, with a bright future ahead of him, his life was destroyed by drugs.

Christopher ended up in sheltered housing for vulnerable young people, where drugs appear to have been part of everyday life.

Those who introduced him to drugs and continued to supply him bear a huge responsibility for his death.

But what a great shame that no-one — friends and anyone in authority — could help him escape from the downward spiral which gripped his final months and hours.