The husband of a lady who died after consuming a Pret a Manger wrap has advised an inquest of the harrowing second she collapsed on the street, unable to breathe.
Celia Marsh, 42, a dental nurse from Melksham, Wiltshire, died on December 27 2017 after consuming a super-veg rainbow flatbread from the sandwich chain’s retailer in Bathtub, Somerset.
The wrap had contained yogurt which was purported to be vegan however was later discovered to have traces of dairy protein in it.
The mother-of-five suffered from a extreme dairy allergy and Avon Coroner’s Courtroom was advised she “religiously prevented” all dairy merchandise following a near-fatal allergic response months earlier.
Mrs Marsh had been on a post-Christmas procuring journey along with her husband and three of her daughters when she went into Pret to purchase one thing to eat.
In his assertion, which was learn to the listening to by the coroner’s officer, Andy Marsh mentioned his spouse had begun to really feel “a bit humorous” after consuming the wrap, whereas they have been in clothes retailer Hole, and so they determined to depart the store.
He mentioned: “We began strolling down the slim aspect road by the Hole retailer and Celia had her bronchial asthma inhaler out.
“She used it a few occasions and I requested her if she was OK.
“She mentioned she was struggling to breathe however it could be due to the chilly air.
“We then moved to a small aspect road on the left and I pulled her to at least one aspect.”
He mentioned Mrs Marsh had initially thought she was “fooling around” as a result of the sandwich had been labelled “vegan”.
“She had her Epipen in her hand and I mentioned to her that if she thought there was any probability she was having a response that she ought to simply do it and use the pen because it doesn’t matter,” he mentioned.
“She then mentioned to me ‘That you must cellphone an ambulance’,” he added.
Mr Marsh mentioned he phoned 999, by which period his spouse had collapsed and was being tended to by an off-duty GP who had provided to assist.
“They took Celia away in an ambulance however I had my youngsters with me so couldn't go within the ambulance along with her to the hospital,” Mr Marsh mentioned.
“I used to be actually in shock so it took a short while earlier than I used to be capable of drive as much as the hospital in my automobile.
“After we arrived on the hospital we have been taken right into a aspect room and we have been advised that Celia had been pronounced useless at 4pm.”
Brendan Turvey, a civil servant with first assist coaching who went to assist Mrs Marsh, mentioned a crowd had fashioned within the busy road round her as she lay on the bottom.
He described the scene as “disturbing” and mentioned he noticed Mr Marsh trying to consolation his younger daughter.
Quite a lot of folks have been mentioned to have taken off their coats to position over Mrs Marsh to maintain her heat.
Nevertheless, Shawn Eyles, one of many paramedics who attended, mentioned in his assertion that some consumers continued to step over Mrs Marsh as she was being handled.
Mr Marsh and his daughters could possibly be seen weeping in the course of the listening to because the statements have been learn out.
An allergy specialist from Southmead Hospital, Dr Nikolas Tsiougkos, additionally gave proof concerning the seriousness of Mrs Marsh’s situation.
The inquest is happening at Ashton Courtroom Mansion Home in Bristol and is predicted to final between two and three weeks. It is going to decide how Mrs Marsh died.
Mrs Marsh’s household are being represented on the listening to by Jeremy Hyam QC, whereas events embody Bathtub and North East Somerset Council, Australian-based coconut yogurt firm CoYo, and its UK distributor, Planet Coconut.
Each companies have been concerned within the provide of the yogurt ingredient within the sandwich to Pret.
Pret was charged with meals security failures within the wake of Mrs Marsh’s loss of life, however the prosecution was later dropped on account of lack of proof.
The corporate mentioned it will totally co-operate with the inquest.
Mrs Marsh’s loss of life got here within the wake of that of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after consuming a Pret baguette containing sesame seeds, purchased at Heathrow Airport.
Ms Ednan-Laperouse had a sesame allergy.
The tragedy sparked an overhaul of meals labelling legal guidelines which now requires retailers to show full ingredient and allergen labelling on each meals merchandise made on the premises and pre-packed for direct sale, together with sandwiches, muffins and salads.
The chief government of Pret, Pano Christou, was current at Tuesday’s listening to.