PAUL'S DEATH A STARK WARNING TO KIDS

The death of Paul Hillier is a stark warning to teenagers of the perils of
drugs.

He first touched drugs at the tender age of just 12 - less than 10 years
later he was dead.

His addiction led him into a life of crime and finally to Norwich Prison,
where he was found hanged at the age of 21.

Up until his first dabble with drugs, Paul had led a life much like any
other youngster his age. He fished, canoed, swam and was a member of a
Scout group and pony club.

But these innocent pastimes soon took a backseat to something far more
sinister and destructive.

Loving parents Simon and Catherine, who live on a farm in Bradenham, near
Dereham, supported their son as he lied and stole from his family to fund
his rampaging habit, which began with glue sniffing.

Eventually he became hooked on heroin and was caught by police committing
burglary to support his habit. While on remand at Norwich Prison in 1998,
he took his own life.

Mrs Hillier today said she was alarmed to hear of other youngsters
following in the footsteps of her only son.

"It's very disappointing," she said. "I really don't know how people are
going to tackle it. It seems to be endemic in our society now.

"It's very sad and I just don't know how people are going to tackle it,
apart from cracking down hard on dealers."

Mrs Hillier recalled how Paul had been like a normal child before drugs
entered his life and said she was horrified to learn from his school
friends the ease at which lethal substances could be bought.

"I'm not exactly sure what drugs he started with, but he was sniffing glue
and things like that at school," she said.

"I said at the time it was clear drugs were obtainable at school, but the
police and the school didn't really want to believe it.

"Subsequently, some of his peers have told me that if they wanted drugs
when they were at school they could have got them easily. It was just the
adults who didn't know."