Horrific cost of taking legal highs: Mother releases shocking picture of her son, 20, on his deathbed after he suffered fatal heart attack from smoking herbal substance

A grieving mother today released this harrowing photograph of her dying son as a warning to others about deadly legal highs.
Keen sportsman Jimmy Guichard, 20, suffered a heart attack and severe brain damage within hours of taking one of the herbal substances.
His mother Karen Audino said he was found unconscious next to an empty plastic bag from controversial legal high shop UK Skunkworks.
Just 24 hours later Karen held her 'fit and healthy' son in her arms after the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life-support machine.

Tragedy: Jimmy Guichard lying in his Dartford hospital bed minutes before his death after taking legal highs

The mother-of-three is now demanding a change in the law on shops like UK Skunkworks - a campaign backed by two Tory MPs.
Karen, 42, who has launched a Facebook campaign, said: 'Jimmy was fit and healthy, even the doctors said his organs were perfect.

'I believe what he smoked caused this and I want those shops banned, so nobody else has to go through this pain.
'The first place he laid was in my arms, and it was the last place he was going to be.'

Bereft: Jimmy Guichard with his sister Sam (left) and mother Karen at Thorpe Park in the month before he died

Supplier: The keen sportsman was found next to a bag from UK Skunkworks, a legal high chain (pictured is its website)

The legal high was bought at a UK Skunkworks shop similar to this one in Canterbury, Kent

She added: 'I understand people are often quick to point blame and I'm not saying my son's death is wholly the shop's fault.
'Jimmy bought the drug and would have known the risks - a young boy in our town died when his heart exploded in his chest after taking a legal high.
'But these are dangerous substances and selling them on the high street encourages people to try them.
'I know you can get it online but people, like Jimmy, are just after a quick fix.
'There's no way he would have bothered to search online and pay for it and then wait for it to be delivered. It just wouldn't have happened.
'I just don't want his death to be a waste, I hope it will help in proving what these legal highs can do and get the laws changed on selling them.'

Message: Jimmy and his niece Zoe, 6, who idolised him. The keen sportsman suffered a heart attack and severe brain damage within hours of taking a legal high

Jimmy, who had applied to join the Army, had recently moved from Donegal, in Ireland to Gravesend, Kent, to care for his cancer-stricken father Martin.
He bought the legal high from UK Skunkworks shop in Chatham, Kent, on October 2 and was found collapsed on his bed just hours later.

Painful loss: Jimmy, pictured here aged two, passed away just before midnight on October 3

He regained consciousness after a heart attack but his brain swelled causing bleeding and severe brain damage.
His mother, a fast food restaurant manager, dashed from Ireland to his bedside at Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, Kent.
Jimmy, who played for Donegal in the Irish sport of hurling, passed away just before midnight on October 3.
A post-mortem has been carried and his family are waiting for the results of the toxicology report.
Earlier this month student Matt Ford, 17, suffered a near-fatal heart attack after taking a legal high called Exodus Damnation he bought from another UK Skunkworks' shop.
UK Skunkworks has insisted it took disciplinary action after the 17-year-old was sold the legal high in Canterbury, Kent, when its policy is to only serve those above 18.
After that case Canterbury Tory MP Julian Brazier urged Home Secretary Theresa May to change in the law on the sale of legal highs.
He wrote: 'Skunkworks's get-out clause for the sale is that the herb is not for human consumption, but their advice is to help you relax by burning the herbs in the home.
'I find these twisted semantics as repugnant as I am sure you do. Skunkworks, its fellow shops and its websites must be banned.'
Fellow Tory Tracey Crouch, the MP for Chatham, Kent where Jimmy died, echoed his sentiments.
She said: 'People need to understand the dangers of legal highs. Just because they are legal doesn't mean they're not harmful.
'The government needs to urgently review legislation around the sale and purchase of these substances.'
UK Skunkworks, which has 21 green-fronted shops across the south of England, has defended their sales.
A spokesman said there was no evidence that Karen's son who lived in Gravesend, Kent, bought one of their products, despite her claims.
He said: 'Our sympathy is with Mr Guichard's family.
'We get all our products from an official supplier and they do not have any UK Skunkworks branding on them, neither do our bags.
'All our products are clearly labelled 'not for human consumption'. Our customers are closely monitored and we check IDs.
'If we feel that someone is going to ignore the warning we will not sell the product to them.'

Shock: His mother today described how she held her 'fit and healthy' son in her arms after the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life-support machine

The company bills itself as 'the UK's premier one-stop shop for lifestyle accessories, smoking paraphernalia and adult fun!'
It also boasts 'all of our products are completely legal in the UK as they do not fall under the Misuse of Drugs Act'.
In a letter of reply to MP Brazier the company said: 'Calling for UK Skunkworks to be shut down is a pitiful attempt at dealing with the issues we face.
'We sell a wide range of popular products that are received very well by an adult market.'
The legal highs sold by UK Skunkworks include the best-selling party drug benzo extreme, which some experts say can become addictive.
Others are E-Scape, compared to ecstacy, and Pure Gold, amyl nitrate used to give a split-second head rush.
For legal reasons Skunkworks insist their products are not for human consumption and sell them instead as 'plant food' or 'room odorisers'.
The store claims that physical shops are the most 'responsible' way to sell them.
The spokesman added: 'Online it's much harder to regulate.
'You can go online with dad's credit card, tick a box to say you're 18 and have anonymous delivery.'