A HEARTBROKEN fianceé from Barrow is still in shock after her partner of seven years died from a methadone overdose just two days after proposing to her.

Paula Whitehouse, 40, was left devastated when Andrew Baxter died aged 38 on March 22 this year.

An inquest earlier this week found that Mr Baxter died from multi-organ failure at Furness General Hospital after suffering a cardio-respiratory arrest caused by an acute overdose of methadone.

A cocktail of other drugs including codeine, cannabinoids and diazepam were also found in his system according to a toxicology report.

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Mr Baxter, who had been living above the Victoria Hotel in Church Street, Barrow, was staying at Ms Whitehouse's home in Raglan Court, Barrow, on Sunday March 20 when he popped the question much to her surprise.

The pair then both fell asleep in the afternoon before Ms Whitehouse woke up to find that her fiancé unresponsive.

She said: "He looked so gaunt and so pale and he was grey in the face. His face was freezing cold but his chest was really warm so I tried to pick him up to get him warm."

Paramedics were called and Mr Baxter was taken to Furness General Hospital where he remained in intensive care until he died shortly after midnight on Tuesday March 22.

Ms Whitehouse said: "It was just a total shock and it still is now. I loved him so much. I've only ever loved two people in my life and he was one of them. He was a lost soul and I just wanted to help him."

The mum-of-three described her relationship with Mr Baxter as "volatile" and admitted that it became strained when their daughter was born in 2011.

The youngster was taken into care not long after she was born and she has since been adopted by another family.
She said: "I didn't expect to fall pregnant and it just wasn't the right time for us.

"It was hard but I am glad that she has been accepted. Neither of us could cope with her going into foster care but she couldn't live with us.

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"We got on really well but it was just the pressure of keeping contact with our daughter that made us blame each other for what happened. I have no regrets and I know that she is making some woman very happy as a mother.

"It was definitely the right decision. I think about her all the time but if she had stayed with us she would have witnessed violence and arguments."

Ms Whitehouse is still plagued to this day by the uncertainty surrounding her fiancé's death and she thinks this will make it impossible for her to move on with her life.

She added: "I am hoping this will act as a closure but really it never will be because I don't know how he got hold of the methadone."