London - Two brothers have been found dead after taking a new strain of the Class A drug ecstasy.
University under-graduate Torin Lakeman, 19, and Jacques, 20, are believed to have bought super-strength MDMA – the chemical name for ecstasy – on the internet.
The football fans were found in a flat above a pub in Bolton earlier this week after watching a Manchester United game at Old Trafford at the weekend.
On Thursday university bosses in Aberystwyth, west Wales, where Torin was studying planetary and space physics, issued a warning to students about taking the drug.
It is understood the brothers’ parents, Sarah and Ray, who are both teachers, were last night flying from the family home on the Isle of Man, to formally identify their sons.
Police say the deaths are not suspicious and have ruled out suicide.
They are awaiting the results of toxicology tests and post-mortem examinations.
On the advice of police, university vice-chancellor Rebecca Davies issued an email to students warning against taking ecstasy.
She said a “new strain” being bought on the internet could have a delayed effect, prompting unsuspecting users into thinking it was not working and encouraging them to take more.
“On taking the drug there is no immediate reaction,” Davies said.
“Users are then making the mistake of taking more of the drug in order to obtain a high, which – when both doses kick in – results in an overdose which in some circumstances can be fatal.”
Sarah Lakeman, 51, is a teacher of modern foreign languages at Castle Rushen High School on the island, where her sons went to school.
She lives in Port St Mary, with husband Ray, 64, who is also a teacher and served as a commissioner with the local authority in the town for several years.
According to a statement issued by the school, Jacques had recently left the Isle of Man to live in London, while Torin went to study in Wales.
It is understood the family are big Manchester United fans and the brothers were reportedly in Manchester for the team’s match against Hull on Saturday.
They were staying in rooms above the Grapes Inn, in Stoneclough, Bolton, and are thought to have taken the drugs some time over the weekend.
Their bodies were discovered on Monday afternoon.
Castle Rushen staff described Jacques as “intelligent and talented”, and Torin as a “caring individual who would do anything for anybody”.
Professor Qiang Shen, director of the Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at Aberystwyth University, said Torin “will be sadly missed, and fondly remembered by staff and students alike”.
Daily Mail