Drug dealer jailed for teenager's death in Greenock

Cerys Reeve died after taking Ecstasy during a sleepover

A teenage drug dealer convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl after he supplied her with the drug Ecstasy has been jailed for seven years.

James McCairn, 18, sold crystal MDMA to Cerys Reeve after advertising his illegal trade on Snapchat.

The young dancer died after taking the drug during a sleepover at a friend's house in Greenock in July 2020.

Judge John McCormick told McCairn, who was 16 at the time, he had "recklessly" supplied drugs to children.

First offender McCairn was found guilty of culpable homicide following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in June. He was also found guilty of supplying Ecstasy to other young people in Greenock, Inverclyde, between November 2019 and July 2020.

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At the hearing on Wednesday, the judge said he could only imagine the anguish felt by Cerys' family and no sentence could reflect on the gravity of what happened.

He added: "Such is the nature of what happened, even members of the jury were reduced to tears when returning their verdict."

McCairn's trial heard he had been advertising pills for sale on the morning of 13 July 2020.

Cerys had been at a friend's house before going to McCairn's home to purchase MDMA.

She returned and mixed the powder into a cup of juice before taking it.

James McCairn was convicted following a trial earlier this year

When her friend came back into the room after making a toastie, Cerys was described as "acting really weird".

This initially included her not being able to control her arms and kicking items off a window ledge.

The witness went on to describe Cerys as grunting, sweating and falling off the bed, which woke the girl's mother.

She then started burning up and suffered a seizure.

A 999 call was immediately made and the teenager was taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

Cerys was described as "rigid all over" and put on a ventilator.

The talented dancer never recovered and was later pronounced dead.

On Wednesday at the High Court in Glasgow, Gary Allan QC, defending, said: "It's important for me to say in meetings I have had with Mr McCairn it has been plain to me that the utter tragedy of the death of Cerys Reeve as a consequence of ingesting drugs is fully acknowledged by him."