AN IRVINE dad has told how he is haunted by his teenage daughter’s tragic drug death and the fact that he wasn’t able to protect her.

Stewart Handling spoke out after Callum Owens, 19, was found not proven of the charge of causing the death of his 13-year-old daughter Grace.

He said: “I am haunted, you know, by not being able to protect her because that’s my job. A dad’s job is to work and provide and to protect.

“There is no fixed dosage in these pills they are made by criminals who want to make money.”

Speaking on BBC Scotland last week, he added: “I would say to any young person if you get a pill from someone in the street or off Snapchat, or wherever, its an illegal street drug Class A – you have no idea what’s inside that drug. No idea.

"As soon as that goes into your bloodstream it’s Russian roulette time.”

Owens said he gave his friend Grace permission to take an ecstasy tablet when she went to visit him at his home at Arran Place around 7pm on June 28, 2018.

He said he also took an ecstasy pill and woke up to find her dead on his living room floor, but he denied killing her.

At the High Court in Glasgow, this month a jury found the case against Owens not proven and he walked free from court.

Paying tribute to Grace, dad Stewart said: “She was easy to love as a kid. She never caused any problems.

“She was sweet. She was a joy to be a father of. She is so deeply and sadly missed by so many people.”

“She will never be forgotten. I look forward to seeing her again when my time is by in this world. We idolised her.”

The court heard Grace, who died of ecstasy intoxication, had taken the drug in the months before her death and her mother and big sister had both warned her of the dangers.

Last week we reported how older sister Dani hit out at the verdict.

She wrote: “I will make it my life’s mission to make sure that the court laws are updated. I don’t want anyone else to remotely have to go through what we did.

“If someone admits to a crime I believe they are supposed to be prosecuted. The fact that he was not proven saddens me when there was clearly enough evidence for at least possession with intent to supply.”

Outside court Stewart sobbed as a statement on behalf of the family was read out saying: “Whether the accused was found guilty, not guilty or not proven it will not bring our daughter back home again.”