Pubdate: 18 Nov 1998
Source: Times, The (UK)
Contact:  http://www.the-times.co.uk/ 
Copyright: 1998 The Times.
Author: Russell Jenkins

CHILD BORN INTO A DEADLY WORLD

DILLON HULL was born into a world where heroin is the drug of choice and
people are willing to kill for it. His stepfather, John Bates, was a
small-time dealer and his mother Jane Hull, an addict. They lived in a
run-down inner-city area with many unemployed heroin users.

On the day that he died, Dillon had been promised tea at McDonald's. He was
walking hand-in-hand with his stepfather when Paul Seddon opened fire,
killing Dillon instantly. Dealers had wanted Bates dead because he was
undercutting them and had refused their offers to join them.

Dillon's death sparked an inquest among social services in Blackburn and
Bolton. The conclusion was that Dillon was loved and well cared for, just
unlucky to be born into the dangerous world of his mother and stepfather.

Jane Hull, 29, is now taking methadone. She told the court that a bullet
had smashed through their front room earlier on the day Dillon had died.
She said that she had tried to ring the police but had been stopped by Bates.

Jane Hull left school at 16 with a single GCSE. She moved in with her
grandmother in Blackburn and worked as a sewing machinist. She was
introduced to drugs at raves, then progressed to heroin. Dillon's father
did not stay with her long enough to fill in the space for his name on the
boy's birth certificate.

Shortly after Dillon was born, she met Bates and they moved into a house in
Blackburn together. His dealing supported her addiction. Three weeks before
Dillon's death, she gave birth to another son, Codie. He was born addicted
to heroin.

Her father, Robert, said: "She started losing weight at an incredible rate
and became very moody and irritable. It became obvious she was taking
heroin. I think the social services went around after Jane became a
registered addict, but her home was always spotless and Dillon clean and
tidy, so they probably saw nothing wrong."

The couple went to court in March 1995 after police raided their home for
drugs. Bates was given 21 months' jail for dealing and Hull was put on
probation for two years.

"I told her again she had to get her life in order or Dillon would suffer,"
Mr Hull said. "If only she had listened, Dillon would be here today."

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Checked-by: Pat Dolan