A CORONER has warned that people are risking their lives if they take unknown supplements bought via the internet – after the slimming pills-related death of a Darwen fitness fanatic.

Christopher Wilcock, 46, was found to have three-and-a-half times the fatal dose of caffeine in his system after taking a number of ‘T5’ tablets, Blackburn Coroners Court was told.

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His workmates had called him ‘fat’, according to his partner Heather Thompson, and his family confirmed that window cleaner Mr Wilcock was always very conscious about his body image, an inquest heard.

Recording a misadventure verdict Blackburn coroner Michael Singleton, addressing Mr Wilock’s family, said the food and pharmacy industry in the UK was highly regulated for people’s safety.

“For those people who are not subject to those regulations, they are free to produce whatever they like and that is the real danger of the internet,” added Mr Singleton.

But the coroner said, without knowing for definite how Mr Wilcock obtained the pills, there was no recommendations he could make to prevent future tragedies.

The inquest was told Mr Wilcock had initially complained of feeling unwell after taking four T5 tablets after drinking. Before an ambulance could arrive he suffered a heart attack and he died later in a resuscitation room at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Consultant pathologist Dr Richard Prescott, who conducted a post-mortem examination, said toxicology reports showed Mr Wilcock had 259mg of caffeine per 100ml of blood. Fatalities were usually observed at levels above 75mg.

According to research, a fatal dose of caffeine is the equivalent drinking 80 to 100 cups of coffee in rapid succession.

Nephew Ben Wilcock said: “He was always having problems with his weight and it got to the point where he was wasn’t eating at work. Everyone goes on diets but he was taking it that one step further.”

The inquest heard he was also taking a dietary supplement, in the form of drops, which is thought to have been a form of appetite suppressant. His gym work had been restricted after suffering an elbow injury several years ago.

His mother Ann Eddleston told the hearing: “Everyone knows that you should be careful when you take tablets so it seems strange that he has taken so many. That is what I cannot understand.”