Mystery remains over what caused the death of a popular 16-year-old boy who collapsed in the aftermath of a kebab meal from his local takeaway.
Paramedics were called to the home of Nicholas Kelly, who was known to have a nut allergy, after he suffered an anaphylactic shock.
His dad said Nick claimed he had been given the “wrong sauce” - but staff said he was given his standard order and extensive investigations have failed to establish what triggered the tragic reaction.
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An inquest held to establish the facts of Nick’s death today heard of the devastating moment he arrived at his Prescot home in panic on the night of March 7, 2020.
The teenager said he was suffering breathing difficulty and tightness in his chest before collapsing in front of his mum.
He was taken to Whiston Hospital but his condition deteriorated. The video games enthusiast died on March 11, four days after being admitted to hospital.
His inquest, held at Bootle Town Hall, heard he had been to Uno Pizzas shortly before he fell ill.
Nick was said to be a regular customer who would eat from the restaurant on Chapel Street, Prescot, up to three times a week.
The teenager’s typical order was doner meat and mayonnaise - a meal he had never had any problems with over several years of eating from the venue.
The inquest heard that, on the night he fell ill, he was chatting outside the takeaway with his girlfriend’s uncle, staff member Paul Barton, who knocked on the window and asked colleague Mohammad Afshinzar to make a meal for him.
Mr Barton told the inquest: “I asked Mo to do the food. He made the food - the same he always had, mayonnaise and doner meat.”
Mr Barton, who was aware of Nick’s nut allergy, said he noticed nothing unusual about Nick after he received the order.
Mr Afshinzar, who was unaware of Nick’s allergy to nuts, was a driver for the takeaway and typically only made food for other staff.
He told investigators he gave Nick doner meat and mayonnaise, as requested, and continued with his work.
Chris Kelly, Nick’s dad, told the inquest his son had arrived home claiming someone “ had put the wrong sauce in the food ”.
He said his son had previously suffered an allergic reaction to sesame and questioned whether Tahini sauce, which contains sesame, could have been used instead of mayonnaise.
But pathologist Christopher Johnson said there was no evidence to establish what had caused Nick to suffer such an adverse reaction.
He said his inquiries led him to conclude Nick had died as a result of multiple organ failure due to anaphylactic shock - a severe allergic reaction.
Co-factors could have included Nick’s asthma or cannabis, a trace of which was said to have been present in his system, but tests provided no clue as to what sparked the deadly reaction, the coroner’s court heard.
Dr Johnson said toxicology tests would not look for a substance such as sesame and that he understood “insufficient” blood had been available to conduct more specific research.
After Nick’s admission to hospital, Uno was visited by Merseyside Police.
Environmental health officers from Knowsley Council carried out an investigation and tested all products that should not contain nuts both for nuts and sesame, including the mayonnaise and doner meat.
Neither ingredient was found to be present in any of the tested items.
Senior Coroner Julie Goulding concluded Nick died as a result of multiple organ failure and anaphylaxis.
In a narrative verdict read to the court, Ms Goulding gave an overview of the events of that night and the investigations that followed, adding: “On the evidence available it is not possible to identify the direct cause of the anaphylaxis.”
Ms Goulding said Nick typically had the same meal, doner kebab and mayonnaise, which is "what he is said to have had on this occasion” and that it would be “speculation” to attempt to identify what triggered the reaction based on the information provided.
The coroner found it was also impossible to say whether Nick’s asthma, or the presence of cannabis, were contributing factors.
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