THE teenage son of disabled artist Alison Lapper was denied mental health treatment unless he dealt with his substance abuse, an inquest hearing was told.

Parys Lapper, 19, of Worthing, had suffered years of mental health problems throughout his teenage years and had been diagnosed as suffering from a variety of conditions including anxiety, depression and ADHD.

But a pre-inquest hearing was told the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust had refused to offer further treatment to the troubled teenager unless he dealt with his substance abuse.

Anton van Dellen, lawyer for mum Alison Lapper, said the devastated family has serious concerns about why the mental health services had refused further treatment.

He said in a statement to The Sun: “Miss Lapper is very concerned about that approach. It’s a rather stark position taken by the mental health trust.”

Miss Lapper, who was not present at the pre-inquest hearing, was born without arms and with shortened legs because of a condition called phocomelia.

Almost 20 years ago she posed naked while heavily pregnant with Parys for a marble sculpture by artist Marc Quinn.

In the wake of the tragedy Miss Lapper, 54, told how Parys has struggled with mental health problems in his teenage years.

She said he had battled depression for several years but had the family had struggled to get proper treatment for him.

In the weeks before his death, she said her son had been placed in an anorexia unit despite not suffering from an eating disorder.

Parys is the only one of 25 children who featured in the the acclaimed documentary series Child of Our Time, presented by Professor Robert Winston, to have died before reaching their 20th birthdays.

The idea was to chart the lives of 25 youngsters until they reached the age of 20 birthdays to increase understanding of childhood development.