Video informing son of mother's heroin overdose goes viral

A recovering drug addict has told his eight-year-old son the news no child should ever have to hear.

"I have something to tell you, OK? ... Mummy died last night," Brenden Bickerstaff-Clark says.

He recorded the moment and posted the footage to Facebook on Tuesday. The video begins with the boy and his father sitting across from one another at a table. Bickerstaff-Clark reaches over and grabs his hand before delivering the message.

"What? What do you mean, my mum?" he asks. "How?"

"From drugs," he is told, before breaking down and crying into the arms of a woman sitting next to him.

"I'm sorry" and "I love you" are all Bickerstaff-Clark can muster. After two minutes, he looks to the person filming and tells him, "That's enough".

The video been viewed more than 14 million times. Bickerstaff-Clark said he had the moment filmed "for any and every addict with children".

"Today I had to tell my eight-year-old son that his mommy died from a drug overdose," he wrote.

"This is the realisation and reality of our disease. This was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My son has no mother because of heroin. Please get help so our children don't have to suffer."

He reveals that he is 94 days clean and that the video is real.

"This was not staged," he wrote on Facebook.

The video has received thousands of comments. Most were supportive.

"I hope your video opens many eyes. Stay strong," Sheila Keith wrote.

"Prayers for your family, especially your son. He will need you to stay clean, so keep up the good job - 95 days now. If you reach at least one addict with children, your video was worth it," Michelle Greene wrote.

Brenden Bickerstaff-Clark shared the video to show the reality of drug addiction. Photo / Facebook

Deasia Barnett said sharing the footage was the right thing to do.

"Him having this filmed was a great thing. He's hurting and the pain is real yes. But he is trying to make sure nobody else's child experiences what his child had if possible."

But others were more critical.

"His mommy died of a bad choice! I wish that little boy had never met either of you," Dave Lamb wrote.

"(I don't know) what's worse: The fact that they thought it was a good idea to record such a devastating moment or the fact that so many (people) seem to be OK with this being recorded," Delshawn McDaniel wrote.

Ohio police released a graphic photo of a couple overdosing on heroin with a four-year-old boy in the car last month.

Heroin use in Ohio is an epidemic. Last month police released shocking footage of an adult couple who had overdosed in the front seat of their car as a boy, 4, say in the back.

James Acord and Rhonda Pasek were taken to hospital after an officer spotted their vehicle swerving in and out of traffic.

Officer Kevin Thompson said he could not believe his eyes when he approached the driver's window.

In a statement accompanying the photographs, Ohio Police wrote that it was "necessary" to show the other side of drug use.

"We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess. This child can't speak for himself but we are hopeful this story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody."

Across Ohio, a person dies every two hours and 52 minutes from a drug overdose. The Columbus Dispatch reports eight people died every day last year and 3050 people died over the course of the year.

Heroin deaths are on the rise and a public forum was held this week to discuss the community's concerts around heroin use.

Last week, 48 people in Columbus overdosed on heroin in two days. A bad batch was blamed.