A WOMAN accused of supplying the heroin substitute methadone to a homeless man who died has walked free from court after the case against her collapsed.

Claire Winter, 24, of Embledon Walk, Stockton, denied supplying Joseph Patrick James Smyth with the drug in a plastic bowl.

Mr Smyth's body was found in his room by residents at the Roselodge hostel, in Yarm Road, Stockton.

Yesterday, the trial at Teesside Crown Court was halted when prosecutor David Brooke said he offered no evidence against Ms Winter.

Mr Brooke said the Crown took the view that having heard the evidence given by its two main witnesses, a jury could not safely convict Ms Winter. A not guilty verdict was recorded.

On Monday, a manslaughter charge faced by Ms Winter was discontinued, with the prosecution again offering no evidence.

A formal not guilty verdict was returned.

The outcome means no one has been held directly responsible for the death of Mr Smyth.

The 29-year-old was described as a "naive" user of methadone, which is prescribed by doctors to wean addicts off heroin, but can be fatal when mixed with alcohol.

He had been drinking in the hours before his death on March 10, last year, and was said to have been depressed.

Following the court case, Detective Sergeant Ashley Harvey, of Cleveland Police, said Mr Smyth's family accepted the verdict and said they believed he was not a heroin addict.

No one was available for comment from the Crown Prosecution Service.

* Mr Smyth's former girlfriend, Ann Mann, 21, from Stockton, has admitted supplying him with methadone and will be sentenced once reports have been prepared.