Personal trainer, 29, died after making caffeine drink equivalent to 200 cups of coffee

Thomas Mansfield died by ‘misadventure’, coroner rules

Loved ones have paid tribute to Thomas Mansfield (Wales News Service)

A father died after accidentally downing caffeine powder as strong as 200 cups of coffee, an inquest heard.

Personal trainer Thomas Mansfield, 29, ordered a 100g packet of caffeine powder to make supplement drinks at his family home.

But he accidentally made a mixture containing seven times the recommended dose before he “necked” it.

His heartbroken widow Suzannah said her “really healthy” husband then began “clutching his chest” on the sofa.

An inquest heard Mr Mansfield, of Colwyn Bay, North Wales, had ordered the powder from supplement company Blackburn Distributions.

The recommended serving of the powder is 60mg to 300mg twice a day – but Mr Mansfield’s digital scales had a starting weight of 2g.

The inquest heard Mr Mansfield was “likely aiming for a mid range serving” but instead drank a much larger amount of the powder.

Ms Mansfield said she saw her husband frothing at the mouth just moments after drinking the solution.

She ran outside to get help from neighbours and nearby family members before an ambulance was called.

The inquest heard that paramedics arrived within minutes to use a defibrillator due to Mr Mansfield’s “grossly abnormal” heart rhythm.

He was rushed to Glan Clwyd Hospital after going into cardiac arrest, but was pronounced dead at 4pm on 5 January last year.

The father-of-two, who also worked as a security guard, made the drink shortly after it was delivered to his address.

The inquest in Ruthin heard he first took a sip of the mixture before he “necked the remainder of the drink”.

A post mortem found the caffeine per litre of blood in his system was the equivalent of up to 200 cups of coffee.

The inquest heard that death could be caused by significantly lower levels than the amount he consumed.

His medical cause of death was given as caffeine toxicity.

Senior coroner John Gittins recorded Mr Mansfield’s death as misadventure due to the unintended result in consuming the caffeine powder.

He added he had been “reassured” that action had been taken by the brand to provide a measuring scoop and an instruction sheet.

The inquest heard the instructions and warnings on the packet were not in breach of regulations at the time.

After his death, friends fundraised for the family including Mr Mansfield’s wife and children Tommy and Millie.

Writing on social media, Ms Mansfield said she was “absolutely heartbroken” by the tragedy.

She said: “He was my whole life. I’ll never get over this. You were my life Tom.”

“I’m missing you so much and trying so hard for the kids to keep it together, I love you more than I could love anyone, I’ll always love you."

Self-employed Mr Mansfield ran fitness classes with his personal training business and used the motto: “With you every step of the way”.