Mother's warning after 13-year-old son almost dies of alcohol poisoning

An English mother has revealed her 13-year-old son almost died from alcohol poisoning in a heartbreaking post on Facebook.

Chase ended up in hospital after he began drinking vodka shots at school that the 'popular' kids had brought in.

After he was assessed, he was found to be almost two-and-a-half times over the alcohol limit for driving.

Jo Owen shared her story on the social media website in the hope other parents would become more aware of peer pressure.

She said he almost died after she found him slumped in their garden in Taunton, Somerset.

“Finding Chase collapsed in my front garden yesterday after school, I instantly knew something wasn't right. According to him, he was just tired,” she wrote.

“Having got him in the house his condition deteriorated rapidly. Unable to string a sentence together, slurring his words and very soon vomiting profusely. Having to see my son like that was awful.”

She described it as the "worst 24 hours" of her life.

Initially, paramedics thought Chase might have meningitis, a possible stroke, or the effects of a bad migraine.

“After three or so hours his tox (sic) report came back and Chase had enough alcohol in his system to be two and a half times over the drink drive limit,” she said.

“We have now found out from investigations at the school, that over the course of three days Chase had been downing shots of vodka that the 'popular' boys were bringing into school in Coke bottles. He was trying to impress these boys to fit in with them! And in turn almost died!”

Ms Owen went on to say that peer pressure "is real and can be deadly".

“We need to educate our teens that it is okay not to fit in, be different & have our own identities. We don't need to impress anyone, be yourself and you will find the right friends, not the most popular ones. You do not need to be in the popular group at school to be successful once you are no longer in school.”