Young autistic woman, 22, died after taking poison bought from abroad

A young autistic woman with a history of mental health issues died after taking 'dangerously available' poison she ordered from abroad.

'Bright and kind' Hannah Aitken had struggled with her mental health since she was 12 and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2017.

Over the next five years, she was admitted to seven different hospitals for mental health treatment.

The 22-year-old was living in supported living accommodation in Caterham, Surrey last year when she took a poisonous substance to end her life which she ordered online from abroad.

Paramedics rushed to treat her but didn't have the antidote on hand and she tragically passed away.

Her family don't know how she learned of the poison and where to buy it - and were shocked to learn coroners have been warning of the 'dangerous availability' of these substances for years.

Medical consultants told Hannah's inquest that the use of the substance - the name of which is redacted - is becoming more and more common for self-harm.

Since 2020, the Home Office has received at least five Prevention of Future Death Reports relating to it. But the reports found there are no restrictions on the import of it from abroad.

A coroner has written to the Home Office and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to urge them to take action.

At a six-day hearing at Surrey Coroner's Court, HM Assistant Coroner Anna Loxton highlighted the risks of the poison and sent a Prevention of Future Death Report.

The substance was marked as delivered to Hannah on September 14 and later that day she called out to her support workers for help.

She said she had taken an overdose but wouldn't give them the details of the substance and had hidden the packaging. 

Hannah became unresponsive and suffered cardiac arrest and couldn't be resuscitated.

The report into her death said she had written about wanting to end her life in a notebook 'some weeks prior to her death at around the time of ordering the substance'. It was found on her bed after she died.

Hannah's father Pete Aitken said: 'As a child, Hannah was bright, kind and active with the most beautiful smile and deep blue eyes. Despite her struggles with her mental health over the years, before she died she was where she wanted to be, living in the community with her beloved dog Milo.

'There were shocking shortcomings in the regulation of the poisonous substance she took.

'We have learnt that the risks associated with this poison have been known about for at least five years and that coroner's have been repeatedly raising concerns about its dangers. Yet clearly, vulnerable adults like Hannah can still get access to it and use it to end their lives.

'We have discovered that there is an antidote to the poison, which tragically was not available to the ambulance crew who treated Hannah. 

'Following a death in the West Midlands, the ambulance service there has equipped teams with the antidote as part of a trial which the Coroner was told is now being expanded. We would urge all ambulance services to join this trial.

'We were grateful to the Coroner for asking the Home Office to attend the inquest and provide evidence on the system of regulation of the poisonous substance.

'However, to say that we have heard mixed messages from the Home Office is truly an understatement. 

'We were shocked to hear from the Home Office that the objectives of the Poisons Act do not include prevention of suicide and self-harm, and so it was never intended to protect someone like Hannah. We were also very disappointed to hear that the Home Office has no plans to further restrict access to the poison. 

'This is despite knowing of the repeated concerns raised by Coroners about its accessibility, and by their own admission having no knowledge of how widespread legitimate uses of the substance are.

'It is very concerning for us that many of the issues raised in the inquest into Hannah's death have been raised in previous inquests over five years, but that the numerous previous Prevention of Future Death reports had not been acted on in time to help Hannah. 

'Our hope is that the Government respond urgently to address the risks this Coroner has again shone a light on, so that fewer families have to go through the pain, trauma and grief we have endured.'

Caleb Bawdon, the family's solicitor at Leigh Day, said they believe Hannah's death was avoidable.

'Had lessons been learned from previous deaths involving this poisonous substance, she would still be alive today.

'The Home Office was called to this inquest, against its will, to give evidence which the Aitken family believe revealed the lack of any effective system to regulate this poison to protect from suicide and self-harm. 

'We also heard of the lack of any regulation regarding imports of this substance from abroad, even where the Border Force identify a risk of suicide from a particular package.

'My clients believe this is not good enough – and are calling for the Home Office to take urgent action to introduce regulation to prevent suicide and self-harm from this lethal substance.'

In May, Catherine McKenna, the Area Coroner for Manchester North, sent the government a similar report.

This was after a doctor killed himself with poison that had been intercepted by the Border Force on the way from Malaysia, but they had no power to stop him from getting it.

The intercepted package containing poison was released and delivered to Dr Jonathan Shaw, who had ordered it online.

An inquest heard that the parcel - containing poison which isn't officially banned - was flagged and seized by officers when it arrived in the country.

Current legislation means the agency can only keep hold of such items for up to 30 days.

The Border Force released the parcel without examining its contents, according to a coroner, and it was delivered to Dr Shaw nine days later.

Police weren't told the package had been sent to him and sadly, although he told family and police he would dispose of it, Dr Shaw hid it and used it to kill himself.

The coroner said evidence from the inquest revealed 'matters giving rise to concern'.

'In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken,' she wrote.

In response, the Home Secretary said: 'The Home Office is actively exploring legislative and policy options, including working with or alongside officials of other Government Departments as appropriate, for the control of [REDACTED] (and other similar substances)'.

In 2023, a teenage schoolgirl took her own life after swallowing a poison she ordered online from Ukraine.

Sophia Gurung, 16, was a 'quiet, hard working and positive student' at the prestigious and private Queen Anne's School in Reading, Berkshire, where she boarded during the week.

She was pronounced dead in the early hours of July 26 following a sudden and mysterious collapse while staying at home in Abingdon, Oxfordshire with her parents over the summer term.

The coroner for Oxfordshire Darren Salter told an inquest into the teenager's death that a later police investigation found that Sophia had ingested a lethal chemical she ordered online and have it delivered to her home address.

The poison is believed to be linked to more than 130 UK deaths since 2019 and has raised concerns about the online exploitation of vulnerable people by unscrupulous 'poison sellers' abroad.

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