Inquest jury's verdict on inmate found unresponsive on floor of cell at Kirkham Prison

A jury at the inquest into the death of an inmate of Kirkham Prison found unresponsive in his cell has returned a conclusion that it was a drug-related death.

Steve Porter, 50, had been transferred to Kirkham on January 32, 2025 after being in the prison system since the previous year.

He was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell by prison staff on the morning of February 4 and died in Blackpool Victoria Hospital several hours later, the inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard.

Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd carried out a post mortem and ruled Mr Porter’s cause of death to be spice toxicity.

Spice, which is also often known as K2, Black Mamba, or fake weed, is a term for a family of laboratory-made designer drugs which mimic the effects of natural cannabis but is highly unpredictable and significantly more potent than real marijuana.

Dr Shepherd described the designer drug as “universally toxic”, being able to affect almost every system in the body, although it was not possible to be certain exactly how it affected Mr Porter, who was on prescribed medication for epilepsy.

The inquest was heard by a jury of six women and five men.

Inquests which by law require a jury include those where the coroner has reason to suspect that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death in custody or state detention.

In a report last year, HM Inspectorate of Prisons revealed KIrkham Prison had the highest rate of drug use in the open sector with more than a 40 per cent of convicts testing positive for drugs, compared to one in four in 2024.