Police investigating the death of Devon heroin addict Rachel Whitear travelled to Greece to interview her former drugs counsellor, it has emerged.

The unnamed man, one of the last people to see Rachel alive, gave two Wiltshire Police officers information about events prior to the 21-year-old's death.

Ms Whitear's parents, from Withington, Herefordshire, released shocking pictures of Rachel after she died at a bedsit in Exmouth, in May 2000 apparently of a drug overdose.

The images showed her kneeling on the floor grasping a syringe in her hand, in an attempt to warn others of the dangers of drugs.

But the investigation into Rachel's death was re-opened after tests showed she did not have enough drugs in her blood to have died of an overdose.

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary voluntarily referred the case to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

The second investigation is being carried out by Wiltshire Constabulary under PCA supervision.

PCA head of publicity Richard Offer said Rachel's former drugs counsellor, who now lives in Greece, gave officers information about Rachel's state of mind and lifestyle shortly before her death.

'He has provided information which moved the inquiry forward. He was one of the last witnesses officers needed to interview. They have more or less finished their inquiries now and will proceed with writing their report,' he said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett, head of Wiltshire CID, leads the current investigation.

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