Student, 16, who was 'tripping' on hallucinogenic drug drowned after stripping naked and diving into river 

  • Nathan Wood became disorientated after taking psychoactive drug 'N-bomb'
  • He stripped naked and then jumped into the River Dart near Totnes in Devon 
  • His mother Mandi described the 'unimaginable pain' of losing her teenage son

By Amie Gordon For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Nathan Wood drowned in the River Dart near Totnes in Devon on August 5 last year

Nathan Wood drowned in the River Dart near Totnes in Devon on August 5 last year

A grieving mother has described the 'unimaginable pain' of losing her teenage son who drowned after taking a hallucinogenic drug. 

Nathan Wood became disorientated after taking the psychoactive drug 'N-bomb', stripped naked and jumped into the River Dart near Totnes in Devon on August 5 last year.

An inquest into the 16-year-old's death heard he drowned after taking the drug he bought with friends for £5.

Nathan had finished his final year at King Edward VI school in Totnes and was looking forward to starting a sports adventure college course.

His best friend said that on the day he died, Nathan had told friends: 'I want to go tripping'.

The pair paid £5 to a friend for a £7.50 tablet known as 'N Bome' which Nathan cut in half.

Both of them took the drug and walked to a nearby skate park. Nathan said the taste of the drug was like 'the stuff you put on nails to stop children biting them'.

Both teenagers immediately felt the effects of the drug and Nathan's friend told the inquest: 'We knew we were tripping.' 

Nathan then joined a group going to the River Dart.

Search and Rescue teams launched a search for 16-year-old Nathan Wood in the River Dart in Totnes, Devon

Search and Rescue teams launched a search for 16-year-old Nathan Wood in the River Dart in Totnes, Devon

One of the group later rang Nathan's friend and said: 'Nathan has gone all weird on us and we don't know what to do.'

One teenage girl with Nathan at the time said: 'He really did not seem to be himself. He seemed down, not enthusiastic about anything, it was out of character for him.'

N-BOMB 

N-Bombs are powerful hallucinogens, similar to LSD which became Class A drugs in 2014.

Users will experienced 'trips' on the drug which can be good or bad, but until you take it you don’t know how it will affect you – and once on a ‘trip’ you can't stop it.

Side effects include: 

  • Feelings of confusion and paranoia.
  • Insomnia.
  • Feeling sick and nauseous.
  • Body tremors and shaking. 
  • Increased heart rate and blood pressure.
  • Agitation and aggression. 
  • Seizures and a fever or high body temperature.

The main effects and risks of taking hallucinogens, like N-Bomb, are:

  • Time and movement can appear to speed up and slow down.
  • Colour, sound and objects can get distorted and you can experience double vision.
  • These distortions of senses can be quite unpredictable, sometimes pleasant, but sometimes very frightening.  

Advertisement

She said Nathan told her that one of the group was talking about 'sacrificing someone' - his eyes were wide open and he told her 'we have to go'.

'Nathan was tripping out,' she said. 

'I realised he must have taken something. I was concerned about him.' 

She said in her statement she then 'heard a loud splash' but had no real concerns although she knew he wasn't a strong swimmer. 

The group thought he might have been hiding in bushes or woodland but the group could not find Nathan despite searching the river banks.

When police arrived, they were told by the laughing group - who were sitting in a circle 'where there was a strong smell of cannabis' - that Nathan had taken an N bomb which had 'similar effects to Ecstasy and magic mushrooms'. 

Nathan's rucksack, clothes, wallet and phone were found on the river bank - and a police diver found his body on the river bed the next morning following an extensive search involving a helicopter, divers, dogs and Dartmoor search teams.

A post mortem concluded Nathan had drowned some four hours after taking the drug. 

In a statement read to the inquest, Nathan's mother Mandi Retter, 47, said her youngest son was 'loving, full of life, quite a big character and a joker'.

She said his death had caused her 'world to fall apart' but said she did not want her son's death to be in vain as she warned other youngsters against experimenting with drugs. 

Nathan was found several hours after he disappeared, having taken the drug known as 'N-Bomb'

Nathan was found several hours after he disappeared, having taken the drug known as 'N-Bomb'

Detective Constable James Brice said the drug had an adverse reaction on Nathan, who was a 'much loved and sociable 16 year old boy whose life was ahead of him'

Detective Constable James Brice said the drug had an adverse reaction on Nathan, who was a 'much loved and sociable 16 year old boy whose life was ahead of him'

The mother-of-three from Compton, Devon, said she was aware her son had been smoking cannabis but was 'not aware he was experimenting with any other type of substances'.

Detective Constable James Brice said the drug had an adverse reaction on Nathan, who was a 'much loved and sociable 16-year-old boy whose life was ahead of him'.

He said there was no third party involvement in his death but said he could not comment on the drug supply as there was an ongoing police investigation.

One of Nathan's friends who attended the Torquay inquest with his brother, claimed young people at the Totnes skate park were 'off their heads'. 

Senior coroner for South Devon Ian Arrow concluded the 16-year-old's death was drug related. 

He said: 'If he had not taken that drug that day he would not have died that day.' 

Most watched News videos