A young man who was so desperate to win his battle against drugs that he pretended to be involved in serious crimes so he could be locked up and protected from harming himself has died.

Tragic Mark Whyatt had dreams of becoming a rap star before his death from massive organ failure after a decade of drug addiction.

Family and friends of Mark, who got hooked on heroin at the age of 12, said he had almost kicked drugs for good and was looking forward to auditioning for television talent show X-Factor when he was suddenly taken ill.

Mark had tried numerous rehabilitation schemes. But, aged 19, he became so desperate that he openly smoked heroin in a police station and pretended to be involved in an armed robbery so he could go into "cold turkey" in custody.

Recently, he had been taking methadone to help him stay off heroin. The 23-year-old had been doing well to kick the habit until he contracted what seemed like flu.

Mark, who lived in Bradford before moving to Halifax, was given antibiotics after pneumonia was diagnosed. But two weeks later his condition worsened and he was admitted to Halifax Royal Infirmary.

He never recovered and six days later he died from multiple organ failure.

Before he died he was visited by his mother Tanya Killerby whom he had not seen for four years. Family friend Paul Shaw, of Thornton, managed to track down Mark's estranged mum but by the time she got to his side he was unconscious. He never woke to see her.

Mrs Killerby, who has cerebral palsy, said she would never get over losing her son - even though they had been separated.

"Mark was heartbroken when I left but I didn't have a choice," she said.

"I had to go, his habit had been getting too much for me to bear. I regret having to go and leave him but I'm comforted that he had finally managed to turn his life around. Music had become his number one, it had replaced his need for drugs."

Mrs Killerby also paid tribute to family friends Paul and Jean Shaw who took on the role of Mark's "second mum and dad".

"Without them he would not have got as far as he did with getting off drugs," she said. "They helped show him there wasmore to life and that he was someone special. I'll always remember their kindness.

"I was there with Mark right at the end. I t breaks my heart to think he might not have known I was by his side."

Mr Shaw, a retired businessman, said Mark would be missed by his friends.

"Despite his difficult life and addiction to drugs he bravely fought to make a clean start and we really think he was about to do it," Mr Shaw said. "We encouraged Mark's enthusiasm in making music and had paid for him to record CDs at a studio in Bingley."

Mr Shaw has kept copies of the lyrics Mark wrote - one track was called Life's Complications.

He said: "He put down his feelings in words. You could call them angry but recently he had been excited about what the future had in store. He was a bright boy, too good for all the troubles he'd had.

"He would spend days on end writing lyrics. He idolised American rap singer Eminem and wanted to be famous like him. He was excited about the latest CD he was working on and we'd been talking about sending off his work to record companies."

Mark's funeral is due to take place at Scholemoor Cemetery on Monday, January 31, at 11am.