Torin & Jacques Lakeman: Brothers died after buying ecstasy on dark web

Torin and Jacques Lakeman died after taking ecstasy bought on the "dark web"

Two brothers died after taking lethal doses of ecstasy which they had bought on the "dark web", an inquest was told.

Torin and Jacques Lakeman, aged 19 and 20 and from the Isle of Man, were found in a room above The Grapes pub in Stoneclough, Bolton, last December.

The pair had booked accommodation there as part of their trip to watch Manchester United play on 29 November.

Toxicology tests revealed they had taken "five to six" times the lethal dose of the drug.

Bolton Coroner's Court heard how Torin had ordered MDMA - the active ingredient in ecstasy tablets - on a website called Agora from an anonymous vendor called Stone Island.

They accessed the site via the "dark web" - a part of the internet that cannot be found using normal search engines.

The pair were found in a room above The Grapes in Stoneclough

After the match at Old Trafford, the former Castle Rushen High School pupils returned to the pub where it is believed they took the drugs.

Their bodies were discovered two days later.

The court heard both brothers had a troubled history of alcohol and drug abuse, and had been hospitalised on a number of occasions on the Isle of Man.

However, their father Ray Lakeman said the pair were "best friends" who appeared to be getting their lives back on track.

Jacques was an aspiring chef and Torin was in his second year of studying physics at Aberystwyth University.

Returning a narrative verdict, coroner Alan Walsh said the pair died due to the misuse of ecstasy.

He said he would be writing to home secretary Theresa May to address the issue of buying illicit substances online.

He added: "I can't underestimate the impact these deaths have had on friends and family of Jacques and Tobin, and their deaths also highlight a greater problem - the ability of young people to obtain drugs through the dark web, and anonymous suppliers operating behind a veil."