Bullied at school and later by her peers because she was so small, Mickey never felt she belonged anywhere. She felt so insignificant after months of verbal and physical abuse from female classmates, she dubbed herself "microbe". Her self-confidence shattered, she started to harm herself, took an overdose of paracetamol several times, began abusing solvents and ran away from home. Six months ago, the 27-year-old's tiny 4ft 9in body was found in the stairwell of a Hockley block of flats by a caretaker. The cause of death was heroin abuse. As far as her mother Yvonne is concerned she was murdered. The heartbroken nurse, who does not want her full name used for fear of reprisals from dealers, hopes telling her daughter's tragic story will help steer others away from the class A drug. Speaking for the first time since Mickey's death, Yvonne today paid tribute to her as a loveable, kind person who would help anyone. A poet and artist from a loving family her fall into drugs is a story repeated several times over, according to city coroner Aidan Cotter. "Mickey was always talking about wanting to belong, but she did, she belonged to us, and we all loved her so dearly," said Yvonne. "But very small in stature and immature in her outlook on life, she found it difficult to make close friends and tended to be a loner even though she knew lots of people. "Mickey had a very poor self esteem from an early age even though she came from a very caring, loving and close knit family. "Taunted about her size as a child and adult, she wouldn't stand up to bullies and was always giving in rather than say no. "On June 17 there was a knock on the door, it was a policeman. Since that moment life for our family has been a nightmare." Merseyside-born Mickey came to Birmingham two years ago to start afresh but got dragged into the drug culture as she tried to help the city's homeless while attending an arts course. She spent over a year in Christian drug rehabilitation centres but later ended up living on the city's streets. Since her death, Yvonne has discovered Mickey was forced to smoke drugs on a city bus and let someone inject heroin into her neck. "She was bullied a lot at high school. Once her face was black and blue with bruises after a girl twice her size, punched her," she said. Mickey phoned her mum last Christmas, and confided that was taking heroin. But at the time of her death, she had become a Christian, was on methadone and trying to get her life back on track. Asked to be bridesmaid for her sister, she returned home in May to pick out a dress. "When she put the dress on she looked just so absolutely beautiful in it. Her death has just been terrible for us all. "I feel she was murdered and her killers are getting away with it. They need to be hung, drawn and quartered, but even that's too good." Yvonne does not want her daughter's death to have been in vain. She is now backing Mr Cotter's campaign and is working with PADA - Parents Against Drug Abuse - to help other addicts. | 
