A DRUG addict Barrow dad who gave his 13-year-old son a killer morphine tablet because he had a headache has been jailed for four years.

Kevin Morton, 49, pleaded guilty to manslaughter following the death of Kye Backhouse at their home in Barrow-in-Furness last year.

Ambulance crews attended the house in Ewan Close at around 7.30am on October 9 but Kye was pronounced dead at the scene.

The youngster, described by his grandad Michael Backhouse as “funny, loving boy”, had taken morphine given to him by his dad - a regular prescription drug abuser. Mr Backhouse said: “Kye’s death has utterly devastated us all.

“We thought he was safe with his dad. He was meant to protect him.

“A parent is meant to warn their children off drugs, not actively supply them.”

Preston Crown Court heard on October 8 last year, Kye had been at home with his dad when he complained he wasn’t feeling well and had a headache

Morton did not want to go to the shop to buy some medicine suitable for Kye as it was raining and he was wearing his pyjamas.

However he had one tablet left from four 200mg Zomorph tablets he had bought on the black market locally, which he gave to Kye.

Judge Anthony Russell QC, sentencing, said: “The thought he might suffer serious harm or die probably never crossed your mind.”

That night Kye and Morton - who had taken a cocktail of prescription drugs - slept on the sofa until Morton was woken by the alarm on his phone at 6.30am.

He threw Kye’s school uniform towards him and went out to buy some electricity from a local shop.

But when he returned Kye was still motionless and Morton rang 999.

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, told the court: “He told them he thought he was dead.

“Upon arrival they found Kye in the living room and his father attempting to administer CPR. It was clear Kye was deceased.”

Morton admitted giving his son a morphine tablet but as the youngster had never taken the drug before, it proved fatal.

He refused to say where he had bought the tablet but admitted he self medicated with morphine, valium and gabapentin to deal with back pain.

A psychiatric report noted that pain relief was secondary to the buzz Morton got from taking opiates and benzodiazepines.

James Heyworth, defending, said: “Morton had built up a degree of tolerance which perhaps goes some way to explaining why he did not think that tablet would cause any harm or ill effect on Kye.

“No parent should have to bury their child but when the parent has caused the death of the child, all that can be left is a lifetime of grief, self loathing and regret.”

In a moving victim impact statement read in court, Kye’s grandad said: “Kye was a funny, loving boy who was just starting to show signs of becoming a little man.

“He had just grown a small moustache and was beginning to venture out with his friends.

“He played a large part in our lives and we saw him often. We cared for him nearly every school holiday.

“We are going away in our caravan soon and the thought of Kye not being there is absolutely heartbreaking.

“The hole he has left in our lives is vast and the pain excrutiating.

“Kevin Morton is charged with manslaughter however in our eyes it seems more like murder.

“Kye wasn’t a streetwise boy and he loved and trusted his father. He would have taken any tablet his father handed to him without question.

“Kevin’s abuse of prescription drugs shows his disregard of legal medication. He clearly thinks he knows better than a doctor.

“This wasn’t an accident. We don’t care whether Kevin is sorry or not - Kye is still dead.

“This case is simple. An alcoholic shouldn’t share alcohol with their children, a chain smoker should not give their children cigarettes and a drug addict should not give his children drugs.

“Nothing will ever make our lives easier. Kevin could spend the rest of his life in prison and it wouldn’t bring Kye back to us.

“We feel he must be punished. He is not the only person to have lost a child. His actions have robbed us of our son, grandson and brother.”

Judge Russell QC, sentencing, said: “There is no getting away from the fact that your (Morton) actions have not only caused you to be in this position nut have caused considerable distress to Kye’s family.

“They will live with the consequences of your actions for the rest of their lives and the memory of these events will be a source of unhappiness for many years. “You as a father had a special responsibility for Kye.

“This is a case of manslaughter, not murder and the sentence must reflect that.

“However the fact that a death has occured as a result of you giving a dangerous prescribed drug to a child makes this a very serious offence and the message must go out that giving dangerous drugs to others without them being specifically prescribed, will result in severe punishment.”

Throughout the hearing Morton sat looking down with his head in his hands,