Cornwall College schoolboy died after inhaling toxic fumes

A teenage boy found collapsed in a college toilet in Cornwall died after inhaling toxic fumes, an inquest heard.

Charlie Alford, 16, was discovered slumped on the floor of a toilet cubicle at Cornwall College's Saltash campus at around 4pm on September 26 last year.

Staff tried to resuscitate the teenager before emergency services took him to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, where he died later.

Charlie had been seeing a support worker for help with his cannabis abuse, admitting he had been smoking the drug every day when he first started seeking help, the year before his death.

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He had denied using solvents, but was found unconscious next to a butane can – intended for use in cigarette lighters – when a cleaner at the college raised the alarm.

Coroner Ian Arrow recorded a verdict of accidental death, caused by butane toxicity.

Teaching staff at the time paid tribute to the student, who had only recently started at the college.

In a statement, Jan Langley, Charlie's lecturer at Cornwall College Saltash, described the teenager as "a cheeky charmer who you couldn't help but like".