10:07am Wednesday 21st October 2009
By Ruth Lumley
A young woman who slipped into a heroin-induced coma more than eight years ago has died.
Amy Pickard, 25, died in Hastings. She was 17 when she slipped into a coma in 2001.
Amy suffered severe brain damage after experimenting with the drug for the first time.
Her mother Thelma posed for heart-breaking pictures at her daughter's hospital bedside.
In December 2007, it was reported she was emerging from the coma after taking a drug called Zolpidem.
An East Sussex coroner's officer confirmed today that Amy died on October 10.
Leave your tributes to Amy and messages of support to her mother Thelma below.
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