Chef, 18, was found hanging in his bedroom hours after his mother asked him to start paying £200-a-month rent 

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Elliot Stapleton-Giddins, 18, pictured with his mother Tracey, was found hanging in his home in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire

A teenage chef was found hanging in his bedroom hours after his mother had asked him to start paying rent, an inquest heard today.

Elliot Stapleton-Giddins, 18, of Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, had about £2,500 in his bank account when he was found hanging by his mother Tracey.

The previous afternoon he had received a text from her saying: 'You need to pay £200 a month. The other rooms are £500 so it seems like a fair deal.'

The teenager, who was said to have been 'in a happy relationship' with his girlfriend Lily Avril, worked as a chef for renowned restaurateur Dan Cameron.

He was working up to 50 hours a week at Cameron's Kitchen, the self-titled restaurant of the finalist on the first series of Masterchef: The Professionals.

Elliot had about £2,500 in his account at the time of his death, which he had planned to spend on going travelling, the inquest in Milton Keynes heard.

Ms Stapleton-Giddins told the coroner how her son's only outgoings were to pay for half of his phone bill each month.

His stepfather, Tim Stapleton, footed the other half - and they had already spoken about paying rent in the past, she told the hearing.

Elliot was said to have been 'in a happy relationship' with his girlfriend Lily Avril (pictured)

'I had not realised how much he was earning, but he was really working hard,' she said. 'It wasn't about the money though.

'It was about him being a bit more responsible. He had previously said he understood and that he had been waiting for the conversation to come up.'

Elliott was found with eight cans of a Kronebourg lager and an empty can of Tyskie lager by police, although his blood-alcohol level of 74mg per 100ml was below the legal drink-drive limit of 80mg per 100ml.

Mr Stapleton had noticed that both his stepson's lights and TV were on at 2am on the morning of his death on October 2 last year, although when he walked past his room at 5am, the TV had been switched off.

When his mother tried to get into room at 8.30am she was prevented from opening the door by the loft ladder but was able to see her son hanging.

'I was totally shocked,' she said. 'I shouldn't have texted him, I should have spoken to him in person but I don't think that was the reason.'

Couple: Lily had been in text contact with Eliott until 2am and said her boyfriend had been 'a bit upset about his mother's text'

Detective Constables Amanda Banfield and Dave Brandon of Thames Valley Police attended the scene after being called.

Eliott was pronounced dead on arrival by medics and in a written statement they explained that his mum's text had had some impact on him.

In a joint statement they said: 'Lily had been in text contact with him until 2am. Lily said he had been a bit upset about his mother's text but she had managed to bring him around.'

Although he had no diagnosed issues with mental health, the inquest heard Elliot had complained of feeling low at times in the months leading up to his death.

A member of the combined cadet force, he had told his GP, Dr Shivantha Shunmugarutnam, of plans to join the Army during his last visit to the doctor, 15 months before his death.

'The last conversation I had with him I remember him talking about feeling low in the previous five or six months,' he said.

'I had the impression that something was going on at school. He told me about being in the combined cadet force and he talked about joining the Army.'

Elliot's stepfather Mr Stapleton told the coroner that he had had problems with bullying at his school, St Paul's Catholic School, in the past.

'I think he was bullied and I remember him saying to me that the situation had changed and that he was now the bully to some people and he had felt very bad about that,' he said.

He also went on to explain that Elliot fell out of love with education in his second year of sixth form.

'In his first year of sixth form he did really well, he was in a lot of engineering classes and he was getting merits and distinctions.

'In his second year I believe he had a clash with a teacher and as soon as that happened he would come home from school and I would say 'have you got any homework?' and he would always say 'no' and just switch on the TV.

The medical cause of death given by pathologist Dr Angus Molyneux following a post-mortem examination was ligature around the neck, but Coroner Elizabeth Gray recorded an open verdict due to a lack of evidence for a suicide conclusion.

'It doesn't seem to me that there was anything of any significance from what you've told me,' she said, addressing the family.

'We all know about the text but there's nothing to suggest it was of any great significance.

'Because of all that evidence and nothing significant, in order for me to find that Elliot took his own life I would have to find he intended to do so beyond all reasonable doubt - but from what I have heard I don't have that evidence.

'We have a series of small incidents over time and a family reporting that generally Elliot was on an even keel. He was a sensitive person but nothing to suggest that this was intended on October 2.

'The conclusion that I will draw therefore is an open conclusion. We don't have evidence either way that Elliot intended to take his own life.' 

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