A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy has died from a drug overdose after drinking his parents’ methadone. Derek Alexander Doran was found dead in his bed by his mother at their home in Elphinstone, East Lothian.

Last night, police confirmed they had launched an investigation into how the child got hold of the heroin substitute. His mother, Lisa Dodds, 25, and his father, Derek Doran, 22, are both reported to be methadone users and have been questioned by detectives.

The toddler died on December 13 and is believed to have been buried at Tranent cemetery on January 13.

This latest tragedy will re- ignite the debate over how the children of addict parents should be protected.

Last month Professor Neil McKeganey, one of Scotland’s leading experts on drug addiction, called on ministers to introduce American-style legislation under which mothers who fail to kick their habit a year after giving birth should have their children put up for adoption automatically.

His appeal followed the case of an 11-year-old girl from Glasgow who collapsed after taking heroin. The girl, whose mother is an addict, had been taking the drug for two years.

Last month, Jack McConnell, the first minister, called for the carers involved in the case to be “held accountable” and unveiled plans for a review of how social services deal with children living with drug addicts.

It is estimated that as many as 20,000 children, half of them in Glasgow, are being raised in homes where at least one parent is addicted to heroin or cocaine. More than 300 babies are born addicted to heroin and other illegal drugs every year in Scotland.

Last night police said: “We are investigating the death of a two-year-old child with a view to establishing the full circumstances. The death was reported to the procurator fiscal as all sudden deaths must be.”

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