A MAN who attended a house party in which a 21-year-old died after taking drugs failed to show up at an inquest.

Daniel Garrick Jones, the former partner of Lindy Arnold, was requested to be at yesterday's hearing into the death of her step-cousin, Simon Hill, of Resolven.

But Mr Jones, said to live in Aberdare, expressed his wish — through a solicitor — not to be involved.

In a statement read out by Neath Port Talbot assistant deputy coroner Paul Bennett, Mr Jones confirmed he was at the party on March 25 last year and that Mr Hill's death had had a "devastating effect" on him, causing him flashbacks.

He also passed on his "sincere condolences" to Mr Hill's family.

The inquest heard Mr Hill and friends had been drinking at his and his uncle Sean Davies's house in Cross Street, Resolven, on March 25.

During the evening, Mr Hill took a prescribed drug, Subatex, and smoked joints. In the early hours he was found dead in his bedroom.

Giving evidence, Mr Hill's sister Charlotte said her brother was into cannabis, meow meow — a Class B drug — and Valium, but "never went further than that".

She said: "There is a big group of boys in Resolven, obviously they all take varying amounts of drugs. When it comes to heroin, they disagree (with it), especially with needles."

Miss Hill left the party, but when she returned later she said her brother looked pale and withdrawn.

"Simon was begging me to stay," she said. "He said he felt all right, but he was slurring. Simon said he had taken 'sub', but it went straight over my head."

Miss Hill said she had never seen Daniel Jones before.

"The only person I can imagine it (the Subatex) coming from was Dan."

She said she sent him a Facebook message afterwards blaming him for her brother's death, and that he had replied saying it was not his fault.

Miss Arnold said Mr Jones had a Subatex prescription, and that he had left the party after Mr Hill was found dead.

"Not long after, Dan went straight to prison for something — I'm not sure what," she said.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Bennett said Mr Hill died from an overdose of drugs and alcohol, and said it was not up to him "to make any findings where there has been a suggestion of fault".

richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk