Teenage boy dies from using too much deodorant spray, inquest finds

'He would go through a can a week.'

Folkestone Magistrates Court (Google Maps)

A teenage boy died from butane gas inhalation after using too much deodorant spray, an inquest reportedly heard.

Thomas Townsend would spray deodorant all over his body instead of showering - using a can a week.

The 16-year-old was found dead on the landing outside his room by a member of staff at Red Lodge children's home in Millfield, Folkestone .

Paramedics were called to the scene on 29 August last year but were unable to revive him, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The coroner's inquest at Folkestone Magistrates Court heard police found 45 cans of deodorant in the teen's room - many discovered to be empty.

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 (body odour).

“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.“

Thomas had been in a foster home for five years before he move to Red Lodge in February 2015.

The inquest heard he had a history of self-harm but had not expressed an interest in substance abuse or taking his own life.

Thomas was due to start college a few weeks after his death with hopes of becoming a farrier.

Coroner Rachel Redman recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying: “He sprayed it [deodorant] all over himself and succumbed to the effects of the gas.”