THE parents of a Herefordshire girl, whose image was used to shock teenagers from dabbling with drugs, have said she did not die from a lethal overdose.

Photographs of Rachel Whitear's decomposing body were splashed across the country last year to highlight the dangers of heroin.

But despite her problems with drug addiction, at her inquest in December 2000, Devon and Cornwall coroner Richard Van Oppen ruled that she did not die from heroin. He recorded an open verdict.

Rachel's mum, Pauline and step-dad Mick Holcroft have revealed the coroner's open verdict 14 months after the campaign to prevent drug abuse began.

Mr Van Oppen heard evidence that the level of drugs in her system was far below a fatal dose. Mystery surrounds the circumstances of Rachel's death in her Exmouth flat in April 2000.

Her ex-boyfriend Luke Fitzgerald, who also grew up in Hereford, gave two contradictory statements to investigating police.

But 15 months after Rachel's death her story was being used in an educational video to show teenagers the dangers of drugs and the effects it has on both the addict and their family.

"We agreed to allow Rachel's life to be made into a video to educate schoolchildren and warn them of the danger of heroin because it did lead to her death, indirectly at least," said Mrs Holcroft, who has three other grown-up children.

Impression

"But we do acknowledge that it is an irony that she did not actually die of an overdose when that is the impression everyone has of her death.

"We feel that Luke Fitzgerald holds the key to explaining how our daughter died.

"The coroner did not call him because he was felt to be unreliable but we don't think that is good enough.

"We were never happy with the verdict.

"I think everyone wants to know how their daughter died and why."

The Devon and Cornwall coroner's office said it had received no requests to reopen the file.