Teenager died after New Year’s drinking game

A FATHER, whose son drank himself to death at a New Year’s party, warned other young people yesterday of the dangers of binge drinking.

His son Matthew Loveday, aged 19, collapsed after drinking games at a party last December 31 at his rented house in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, an inquest in Milton Keynes heard. His friends hauled him upstairs to bed, spraying him with shaving foam and cat litter.

One wrote on his stomach as a joke: “I went to bed at ten to ten.”

However, moments later the jovial mood changed when the revellers realised that their friend was dead. Milton Keynes Coroner Rodney Corner returned a verdict of accidental death.

Matthew’s father Clive, aged 48, a postman from Swindon, Wiltshire, said after the hearing: “Our son was only enjoying himself like thousands of others on New Year’s Eve.

“I think the majority of people enjoy alcohol in one way or another but it seems quite obvious now that, if consumed in large quantities, it can and will have tragic consequences.”

He added: “I think Matthew was a victim of the binge-drinking culture in this country.”

Cause of death was given as respiratory depression brought on by excessive alcohol intake.

Tests showed Mr Loveday was five times the driving limit, 404 milligrams per 100mls of blood, a “fatal level”, the Coroner said.

Before the party, at 6pm, Mr Loveday was telephoned by his mother, Jennifer, who wished him a Happy New Year but said “don’t drink too much will you?”

He replied: “No mum, I won’t.”

During a drinking game in which the Dirty Dancing film tune Hungry Eyes was played, Mr Loveday downed a shot of Ouzo every time the word “hungry” was sung, the inquest heard.

He had more than 20 shots during the song before downing the rest of the bottle afterwards.

Mr Loveday, a stock controller at a local retail store, moved to Bletchley last July following a falling out with his parents over his drinking, the inquest heard.