The heartbroken sister-in-law of a South Tyneside man said he took his own life after becoming addicted to cocaine.
Peter Whale's family had been trying to help him tackle his drug addiction for years. The 29-year-old fought to stay clean but his addiction took hold of his life and he relapsed multiple times.
They were left devastated when Peter passed away during the early hours of the morning on Saturday, June 18. His van was found in the sea near Marsden Grotto in South Shields.
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Peter's brother John, 37, and his sister-in-law Louise, 37, rushed to the scene after discovering Peter was at the cliffs. When they arrived, they were told by officers that he had lost his life.
Louise, who is mam to Joshua, 16, Jacob, five, and James, three, said they got out of the car and ran towards the police screaming. She said: "As we were approaching Marsden Grotto, we looked over and saw lots of police and search and rescue. The police ran towards us to stop us and John fell to the ground in total agony and the realisation overpowered us both.
"It's still really difficult now. How do you go forward without somebody that is so involved in your life? I think he felt he didn't have a choice. He couldn't cope anymore with the pain inside his brain anymore, he couldn't bare it.
"He was an amazing singer and he was the most lovable person. He was so unbelievably generous and kind even though he was struggling with money due to his addiction."
Peter grew up with his mam Linda, 66, his dad Dave, 69, and his two older brothers John, and Paul, 35. He lived in Cleadon, South Tyneside, and worked as a self-employed carpet fitter. He was also a talented musician and performed at local venues.
Peter began experimenting with drugs as a teenager and would take them when he went out drinking with friends. He began by smoking cannabis and later started taking cocaine.
Between seven and eight years ago, his relatives discovered he had become addicted to cocaine and he owed around £10,000 to loan sharks and drug dealers. They paid his debt and he assured them he would never get into that kind of trouble again.
However in October last year, Peter's life became unmanageable and he was in debt again. His family paid £6,000 for him to go to rehab in Liverpool and he spent 28 days clean of drugs. They paid his debt again on the understanding that he would pay them back.
After leaving rehab, he stayed clean for two weeks before he relapsed. Louise said: "The disease of addiction had totally rewired his brain and he couldn’t stay clean by himself."
When Peter's relationship came to an end in December, he moved back in with his parents. It wasn't until he took an overdose and ended up in hospital in March this year that his family realised he was back on drugs. At his worst Peter, was spending £250 a day on cocaine.
He went to live with John and Louise in South Shields and they took him to Cocaine Anonymous meetings. With Peter's full consent, they placed a tracker on his van, so they could see when he was going to buy drugs. Louise said: "We wanted to save his life, we were desperate to."
Peter spent 30 days off cocaine before he relapsed again and the couple had to prevent him from taking his own life. Louise said: "We had to intercept him to stop him and it was that moment we knew we were powerless to his addiction."
Peter carried on with his recovery and he had the support of a sponsor. Following an argument, he moved back in with his parents. He relapsed again and ended up moving in with a friend.
His final relapse came about when John and Louise were away for the weekend, Linda was on holiday and Dave was away for a few days. Louise said Peter admitted being awake for four days and spending £1,000 on cocaine.
The following week, John and Louise, who own Barber and Whale flooring store in Sunderland, discovered that Peter had lost employment as a subcontractor. They got him to work for them, paid him half of what he earned and kept the rest for his bills.
During the week of his death, he was back in recovery, making plans to do gigs and he was dating someone new. Louise said that on June 18 they received a call from Linda asking them to check the tracker.
They discovered that his vehicle was at the cliffs between Marsden Rock and Souter Lighthouse. They rushed to the scene where they were met by the emergency services. Louise said the tracker was showing his van as being in the sea.
She said the police followed them to Peter's parent's house, where their children were, and they had to break the devastating news that he has passed away. The family later had to identify Peter's body.
Following his death, they went to the Cocaine Anonymous meeting which he previously attended with his sponsor. Louise said: "We went there and listened to people who were going through similar to what Peter had been through. It just struck a chord with us."
Six weeks on, his family is in the process of setting up Smile - The Peter Whale Foundation. Louise also has plans to write a book which warns children from an early age that drugs are bad.
Through the trust, they aim to raise awareness by sharing people's stories, carry out prevention by visiting schools and universities and offer help and support to those suffering from addiction.
Louise said: "Now all we have left is trying to help others as Peter would want and in Peter's name and memory. Peter's smile was the thing everyone at his funeral talked about. There is a lot of pain behind people's smiles.
"The overall massive goal is to have some sort of recovery centre in the North East of England because there isn't one. The closest one is Scarborough and then into Scotland.
"We're going to get a meeting together with every possible drug and alcohol service in the North East. We want them to work together and not work against each other. There's not one clear path for recovery."
Louise said the foundation will also offer support to families affected by drug and alcohol misuse and tackle the stigma around addiction. She said: "It's just really hard for any family when they don't know how to help someone battling with addiction.
"The North East of England and the whole country needs to be re-educated on addiction. I used to think how could you be that selfish to get yourself into that much debt time and time again. That's what I thought, but it's wrong!
"No one wakes up one day and wants to be a drug addict. Now I feel empathy and I feel sorry for people suffering from the disease. I'm heartbroken for them and I wish I could take it away. It destroys people's lives.
"We don't want people to be ashamed. A lot of people, who have lost people to suicide, won't tell people how they died, they're so ashamed. This is an illness and people need to understand that."
Louise said that Peter educated himself on addiction prior to his death but was not able to beat it. She said he opened up to them about how he felt, how he lied constantly and how he had mastered the art of manipulation.
She added: "It's ended Peter's life. It's literally a death sentence from the minute you start trying it. There's an invisible line that you cross and once you cross that there's no going back. If you get addicted to drugs you go to recovery, end up in jail or die - there's no other options.
"Peter saved so many lives prior to his death. He wanted people to be educated. He was really good at helping everyone else, he was just not good at helping himself."
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