Five die in two Scots "drug den" hotels in 19 days

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Campaigners are demanding an urgent investment in social housing after FIVE suspected overdose in two hellhole hotels in just 19 days.The Record can reveal that two victims at the Rennie Mackintosh Station Hotel in Glasgow were free from drugs when they were admitted to the notorious establishment.Three other people died at the Queens Park Hotel in the city’s southside, which many have described as a “drug den”.The latest victim was Charlene Biggley, 41, a mother who was found dead at the Rennie Mackintosh on Tuesday this week.A distraught close family member told how Charlene had moved from her Kilmarnock home to get away from drugs - but ended up dying of an overdose.The family member said: “Charlene has had a struggle with addiction and moved to Glasgow around five years ago to get away from drugs.

She had a problem with alcohol but she would always say that she would not die a drug addict and that was important to her.“When she moved into the Rennie Mackintosh several months age we knew there was a risk of her going back to drugs because they place is awash with drug dealing and drug taking.“It’s the last place on the world you would want a family member to end up if they were trying to sort their lives out but she was told there was nowhere else for her to go.“She should have been given help for her addiction, not stuck in a horrible drug den.”A 52-year-old man who also died at that hotel on May 14 begged a Glasgow City Council homelessness team worker to find an alternative to the Rennie Mackintosh, given it’s appalling connection to overdose deaths.A source said: “The worker is a thoroughly decent and conscientious person and had to tell him there was nowhere else.