AN English teacher died after taking heroin and ketamine in a notorious council flat, an inquest heard.

Oscar Maskell, 23, suffered three cardiac arrests and later died in the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after taking the class A drugs on August 26 last year.

The English language teacher for foreign students was given adrenaline by emergency services but despite their efforts they were unable to save him.

The inquest at Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Maskell had collected heroin with two friends, Kayleigh Jukes and another man, from Lewes Road in Brighton, supplied by a nationwide drugs gang known as Speedy.

They went to Theobald House in Blackman Street, Brighton, a council housing block that is regarded by police as a hotspot for drug users.

Mr Maskell, originally from Camden, left the flat and collapsed in the lobby of the fourth floor. He lay there unconscious for 40 minutes before he was found by Miss Jukes, the inquest heard.

The coroner heard that two people saw Mr Maskell unconscious on the floor 15 minutes before he was found, but did not help him.

However, he would probably have died anyway, the inquest heard.

The heroin brought on a cardiac arrest which stopped the oxygen supply to Mr Maskell’s brain. Despite being given medical treatment, he suffered two more cardiac arrests.

Miss Jukes made the 999 call at 12.47am while trying to find a naloxone pen to use on Mr Maskell. Naloxone can be a life-saving medicine which reverses the effects of a heroin overdose.

The man who was with them performed CPR on Mr Maskell until paramedics arrived to take him to hospital, where he died at 8.15am.

Miss Jukes and the other man were both arrested but later released.

Miss Jukes died earlier this year.

Dr David Wright, the pathologist who examined Mr Maskell, found traces of heroin and ketamine in his blood.

There were marks on Mr Maskell’s hands and both his inner elbows, which made it unclear if he injected himself.

Mr Maskell’s father, Rob, said: “Oscar was a very charming and intelligent young man.

“One impetuous mistake led to this horrifying tragedy.”

Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley recorded the cause of death as a hypoxic brain injury brought on due to the toxicity of the heroin.

She said Mr Maskell was a “naïve user” who did not take heroin regularly.

She recorded the death as misadventure.