Teenager with dairy allergy died accidentally after eating kebab with yoghurt

A schoolgirl with a severe dairy allergy suffered a fatal reaction after unwittingly eating a kebab containing yoghurt, an inquest has heard.

Chloe Gilbert, 15, became unwell shortly after eating lunch with a friend during a shopping trip to Bath city centre on March 5.

Avon Coroner's Court heard a member of the public administered an EpiPen to Chloe, who was in anaphylactic shock, before paramedics attended the scene.

An air ambulance took Chloe to the Royal United Hospital in Bath, Somerset, where the teenager was pronounced dead at 3.35pm.

Dr Peter Harrowing, assistant coroner for Avon, concluded that Chloe, of Seend, Wiltshire, had died accidentally.

"This is a very tragic case with someone so young who had such a severe allergy," Dr Harrowing told the inquest at Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

"The events of that day weigh heavily on the minds of the parents, who shouldn't make any criticism of the way they looked after Chloe.

"This was an accidental exposure to dairy products to which Chloe was severely and seriously allergic and therefore her death is an accidental death."

The inquest heard Chloe had met a friend on a bus from Melksham to Bath at about 11.30am on March 5.

They stopped for lunch at between 1.30 and 2pm and went to a kebab shop, with Chloe eating a kebab with lettuce, chips and BBQ sauce, and drinking a Pepsi.

Chloe quickly felt unwell and made herself sick but her condition deteriorated. A passerby administered an EpiPen to the teenager.

Police and paramedics attended the scene, outside Boots at the SouthGate shopping centre, and Chloe was airlifted to hospital.

Her parents went to the hospital where they were informed by police officer David Hayhurst, of Avon and Somerset Police, that she had died.

A post-mortem examination by Home Office pathologist Dr Deborah Cook confirmed that Chloe had suffered an anaphylactic reaction.

"That anaphylactic reaction was to a dairy product within the kebab that Chloe had eaten and had eaten unwittingly," Dr Cook said in a statement.

"Chloe had a milk allergy from a very early age and did carry an EpiPen as well as inhalers for her asthma."

The cause of Chloe's death was anaphylaxis and aspiration of vomit due to "exposure to yoghurt with a known allergy to dairy products", she added.

Speaking after the inquest, Chloe's parents paid tribute to their creative and popular daughter.

"Thank you to all the services that tried to help Chloe that tragic day," they said.

"Also the shop workers near by, the members of the public and Chloe's friend who did everything she could.

"Our dear Chloe, a true angel, is loved and so dearly missed by us, her brother, all her friends and family.

"We take this opportunity to mention a couple of charities for the benefit of other anaphylaxis sufferers - Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis Campaign."

In a statement issued after Chloe's death, Melksham Oak Community School paid tribute to the schoolgirl's infectious smile and "lust for life".

"Chloe had a great sense of humour and was beautiful inside and out," the school said.

"She had time for people and genuinely tried to look after those around her.

"Chloe was also creative, she drew fantastic pictures, as if the colour and warmth she had inside needed to radiate outwards.

"There has not been a single person, teacher or student that has not had anything but the most positive of things to say about this young woman.

"This just goes to show what an impact she had on those that met her."