DEREK LEHANE never served time for pushing drugs. The charges did not stick. Instead he ended up being convicted of having cannabis for his own use. Many of his family and friends who fought and worked hard to keep the 19-year-old out of jail now wonder if they were right.

The apprentice stone-cutter is the latest Irish youth to die from an accidental drug overdose: stopped by a Garda drink-driving checkpoint on Thursday, he apparently tried to hide several ecstasy pills by swallowing them. But the ruse killed him. While his family, friends and neighbours in the east Cork town of Midleton are shocked by his death, they all knew Derek had a problem.

But everyone was shocked the first time they realised one of the Lehane family was dealing with drugs. His parents, Donie and Eileen, are well respected in the market town where they are known as law-abiding, reserved people. Their three older children, two girls and a boy, have never been in trouble.

Midleton both benefits and suffers from being just 14 miles from Cork city. It benefits from having a wide variety of shops and facilities nearby, but it suffers by being too close to the big players in the city's drug scene. This problem is compounded by the fact that two of the godfathers in the city are originally from Midleton and keep the town well supplied with cannabis and ecstasy.

As a result Midleton has one of the worst drug problems of any country town. And Derek was one of the victims. By the time he was 15 his best friends were known as trouble to the gardai. Within months the small, dark-haired, lively and intelligent youth was n trouble.

He was found guilty of breaking and entering, burglary, possession of drugs and several other crimes he asked to be taken into account at the time, and sentenced to nine months in jail two years ago, suspended provided he did not come before the courts again.

For the past two years while he continued to take drugs and sell them he was not caught, and the hectic round of crime he indulged in for a few months when he was 16 seemed to be a thing of the past.

The threat of a custodial sentence and the huge efforts made by his family to make sure he did not return to crime were considered to have produced the desired result. His family had thrown him out of the house for a time, his uncles took him to task, and other members of the very big Lehane clan tried to talk sense to him.

Then, last week, gardai found him with more than 100 ecstasy tablets and were preparing to throw the book at him. He knew that, at a minimum, he was facing nine months in jail and he was aware he could not afford to be caught again between then and the time he came to court.

However, he was known to the gardai to be supplying drugs to people in Midleton and he had probably picked up a fresh supply of ecstasy in Cork when he was stopped by gardai for drunk-driving early on Thursday morning. The details of exactly what happened after that are unclear.

According to gardai they called a doctor when they brought him to Midleton Garda station to take a blood sample for the charge of drunk-driving. Shortly after the doctor arrived he became violently ill and was rushed to the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork city. Ninety minutes later he was dead.

He is understood to have swallowed whatever tablets he had in his possession, wrapped either in a plastic bag or in a condom. It's assumed they were ecstasy, but it will take some days for a report on this to come back from the State Forensic Laboratory that is carrying out tests. It is also reported that a young garda in Midleton suspected Derek had swallowed drugs and had a doctor called promptly.

Like the rest of the people of Midleton the gardai are upset at the youth's death. They were among the many who called to the Lehane house in Michael Collins Square on Thursday to sympathise with the family. In the past they had called to search the house for drugs but were always acutely aware of the pain and embarrassment it caused to the household who have no history of being in trouble with the law.

Midleton is different from many of the other satellite towns around Cork city in that it has retained its own identity and a strong community spirit.

It has four second-level schools including the 300-year-old Midleton College founded by the only English-speaking mistress of William of Orange, and is noted for its sports facilities. Many teams compete well against those of Cork city, and over 120 youngsters are involved in the indoor hurling league; others are in soccer teams, various Gaelic teams, pitch and putt, tennis and golf.

While gardai in the town battle with the drug problem they face a major obstacle by having no control over the major suppliers living in nearby Cork.