A teenage boy died from butane gas inhalation after using too much deodorant spray, an inquest has heard.
Thomas Townsend, 16, would spray deodorant all over his body instead of showering and managed to get through a can a week.
The coroner’s inquest at Folkestone Magistrates Court heard police had found 45 cans of deodorant in his room, with many of them already empty.
He died on August 29th last year at Red Lodge children’s home in Millfield, Folkestone after a staff member discovered his body on the landing outside his room. Paramedics were called to the scene but were unable to revive him, according to the Daily Telegraph.
His mother, Sally Townsend, told the inquest:
He would not take showers but would stand there with a deodorant and spray half the can on him. Then he would spray aftershave to cover up BO. He would go through a can a week. I didn’t know he had so many cans in his room but he was a big hoarder.
The inquest heard the youngster had a history of self-harm but had never expressed any interest in substance abuse or taking his own life.
Thomas had been in a foster home for five years before he moved to Red Lodge in February 2015, and he was due to start college a week after his death, where he hoped to become a farrier.
Coroner Rachel Redman recorded a verdict of accidental death.
