GROWING up, Samantha Chadwick wanted for nothing.

Her parents owned a chain of nursing homes and with a privileged upbringing and private school education, the world was at her feet.

She had been in a relationship for nearly 30 years and had two children she adored.

But after being introduced to heroin by her partner, her life spiralled out of control.

The “bright and bubbly” mum of two went through a “personal hell” as she battled a heroin addiction which led to her untimely death, leaving her children without a mum.

After years of heavy use, the injection site in her groin became infected and she developed sepsis.

Doctors warned limbs would have to be amputated in a bid to save her.

Bolton Coroners Court heard Samantha battled addiction for 10 years after first experimenting with the drug at the age of 34.

Samantha, of Hawthorn Road, Kearsley, met Paul Dumbill in 1990 at the age of 16, and the couple enjoyed a loving relationship for 28 years.

Jason, now aged 25, and Lauren, now aged 22, said they enjoyed a “happy and carefree” family life.

That was until their parents became consumed by their heroin addiction and the relationship deteriorated.

Jason said: “We were shocked at how fast it all happened. She was fine when she went into hospital, just had a sore leg. But she never came out.

“We will miss our mum, but we knew this day would come. I think, in a way, we’ve been preparing for it for a long time.

“We could have lost her years ago. And if she hadn’t died when she did, she would have died sooner or later.

“It could have been next month, next year or five years from now.

“She wasn’t going to get better. She’d tried her hardest, but she couldn’t beat it.

“We just hope that sharing our mum’s story can stop other people from falling into this trap and destroying their lives, and their family’s lives too.”

Lauren said: “I’m due to give birth anytime now. I feel sad that she’ll never get to meet her granddaughter. She was with me at the hospital for my check up, just the day before she was taken ill.

“She was so excited about being a grandma. She said she was going to get clean, so she could be a good nanna.

“We’ll miss her so much, but we know she’s at peace now. She doesn’t have to fight a losing battle anymore.”

At the inquest at Bolton Coroners Court, Mr Dumbill expressed his “deepest regret” at introducing “the love of his life” to heroin.

He said: “I am so sorry. I wish I could turn back the clock. She was a wonderful woman. She was very clever and loving.

“I gave her heroin for the first time. But then things got out of control.”

In June, after years of heavy heroin use, Samantha contracted an infection near the track marks on her groin.

The court heard she had begun injecting heroin into her groin after exhausting the veins in her hands, arms, legs and feet.

She was admitted to Royal Bolton Hospital on June 23, where she complained of a ‘throbbing’ pain in her thigh.

Doctors recognised the inflammation on her groin as cellulitis, which had rapidly escalated into a severe case of sepsis.

They immediately treated her with antibiotics and rushed her into surgery for emergency debridement — the cutting away of infected tissue.

Before undergoing surgery, doctors warned Samantha that they may have to amputate her limbs to remove the sepsis.

But her body failed to respond to the treatment and she never regained consciousness.

She died two days later on June 25, after the sepsis spread aggressively through her body and caused multiple organ failure.

An inquest into the cause of her death was requested after her family expressed concerns over the treatment prescribed.

But Coroner Tim Brennan told the court he had no concerns over the course of treatment provided by clinicians at Royal Bolton Hospital.

He said: “Her situation was bleak from the outset and the medical outcome was not unexpected.

“It is my appraisal that nothing the hospital could or should have done differently would have made a difference.”

Concluding, Mr Brennan said: “Samantha made a number of lifestyle choices of her own free will.

“But this is not a court of morals. It is a court of law.

“I don’t stand here in judgement, but I can’t help but observe that this bright, welleducated woman, who had opportunities in life afforded to her, has had her potential in life extinguished due to the degradation of persistent and dangerous drug use.”