Stewart Handling’s daughter Grace lay for almost a day on the living room floor of a man who fled after giving her pills at his home.

The dad of a 13-year-old girl who died after being given ecstasy on her last day of school wants a law passed to make it a crime if a person fails to dial 999 for help. Stewart Handling’s daughter Grace lay for almost a day on the living room floor of a man who fled after giving her pills at his home in Irvine, Ayrshire, in June 2018.

Calum Owens, now 24, was acquitted of culpable ­homicide when a jury found the case against him not proven. But a jury heard Mr Owens describe how he left the schoolgirl unresponsive on the floor after she had taken the drug, without calling an ambulance or her parents.

Stewart, who campaigned to abolish the not proven verdict, is launching a bid for failing to call an ­ambulance to become a criminal offence after connecting with a family whose case bears striking similarities to his own daughter’s. And Justice Secretary Angela Constance yesterday told the Record she would “carefully consider” his plea for new legislation.

Stewart said: “An ambulance wasn’t called for Grace. She was left there on the living room floor for 20 hours.

When (Owens) was questioned he said he was ‘scared’. “We’ve never really had the truth about that. The truth is still out there somewhere.

“But in cases like this, where someone has put off calling an ambulance for an ulterior motive, I think that should be a standalone crime.”

Now Stewart has connected with the heartbroken family of a young mum from England who are campaigning for a new law after her friend waited 30 hours to report her death.

Mum-of-one Kimberley McAssey, 29, was found unresponsive in friend Ryan Sheridan’s bed in February 2021 after the pair took ecstasy together.

But instead of calling 999 immediately, he waited more than a day before alerting his mother first. It was another six hours before the pair then called for medical help.

At her inquest, Kimberley’s death was ruled as ‘unexplained’, with the coroner unable to determine how she had died because of the delay in calling 999.

Now Kimberley’s family, from Prestwich, in Greater Manchester, have launched a petition which calls for the delay in notifying emergency services after a death or medical ­incident to be a crime.

Grace’s dad has now written to the Scottish Government to request a meeting to discuss creating a new law.

In the letter, Stewart described Kimberley’s case as “absolutely awful”.

He added: “There must be other victims here in Scotland who have had loved ones lay in properties for hours if not days.”

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “My heart goes out to the families of Grace Handling and Kimberley McAssey, who have endured heartbreaking losses in terrible circumstances.

“I have previously met with Mr Handling and await details of the further issue being raised. We keep the law under constant review and would carefully consider any proposals put to us.”