A 40-year-old woman, Natalie Doorbar, died after taking the synthetic drug monkey dust two days after Christmas, an inquest has heard. Ms Doorbar, from Biddulph, Staffordshire, had reportedly been drug-free for six months before relapsing, and was last seen by her family in good spirits on Christmas Day. The case highlights the continuing dangers of monkey dust in the Stoke-on-Trent area, which has become known locally as a hub for the drug.

Ms Doorbar was found dead at a property on 27 December after a 999 call reported her breathing shallowly with purple lips; she had withdrawn £100 earlier that day and police later found drug paraphernalia at the scene, where four other people had also been taking the drug. Toxicology results showed monkey dust, cocaine, THC and diazepam in her system, and a doctor said the likely cause of death was cardiac arrest linked to the drug's active ingredient, MDPHP. Coroner Fiona Gingell recorded the death as drug-related, describing it as accidental, while noting Biddulph's proximity to Stoke-on-Trent, an area with a well-documented monkey dust problem.