Apprentice builder, 18, with a severe nut allergy died in his girlfriend's arms after going out for a curry without taking his life-saving EpiPen

• e-mail

An apprentice builder with a severe nut allergy died in his girlfriend's arms after being told by a waiter that his curry did not contain peanuts, an inquest heard.

Dylan Hill, 18, collapsed after dining at Indian restaurant Shaam's in Barnsley with his partner Demi Cash.

The teenager, who was from Thursncoe, near Barnsley, is believed to have died from anaphylactic shock after eating a curry which contained peanuts.

An inquest heard that Mr Hill did not have his life-saving EpiPen with him on the night of the tragedy - which happened on May 17, 2015.

Mr Hill, who was an apprentice builder, died in his girlfriend's arms an hour after eating the curry. He is pictured with his girlfriend Demi Cash, right

Miss Cash told Sheffield Coroner's Court that Mr Hill had a severe peanut allergy and would only carry his EpiPen '50/50' and sometimes forget to take it out with him.

Mr Hill's father, Anthony Robinson, said he used to check the ingredients on food packaging but had become more lax. 

Mr Robinson, 36, said: 'He had known for years he had the allergy and I was always telling him to carry his EpiPen and his inhalers because he had asthma as well.

'He would say "I know - I will". But as he got older he got a bit lax, he often went out without it.

'He was 18 and thought it wouldn't happen to him and thought he would have time to get to hospital.

Tragic Dylan Hill, 18, died after suffering an allergic reaction to a korma curry from Shaam's restaurant in Barnsley

'He had had reactions before but I didn't think it would be that serious. I can't believe it. Everyone who knew him is devastated and in shock.

'EpiPens aren't practical for an 18-year-old lad who likes to wear skinny jeans. 

'You never think it is going to happen to you but when it does it is devastating.' 

On the night of Mr Hill's death, he had been on a date at Shaam's restaurant with his girlfriend Miss Cash. 

Mr Hill had ordered a korma and Miss Cash a jalfrezi.

Miss Cash described how they had checked the menu 'to make sure there were no mention of peanuts' in the ingredients list.

After one or two spoonfuls of his meal, Mr Hill described the curry as 'different to what he had before'.

Miss Cash said: 'At that point, the waiter offered to swap the meal. The waiter said that there were almonds in it but not peanuts.

'It took around 15 or 20 minutes for the next meal [a chicken curry] to come out.

'He had a bit of the new meal but started to say he was not hungry. He said that he felt a bit ill but looked okay at that point.'

Miss Cash described how Mr Hill told her he 'always felt like that' if he had eaten something he wasn't sure about. 

Miss Cash paid tribute to her boyfriend after his tragic death, describing him as her best friend and 'soul mate'

The couple decided to leave the restaurant and go back home.

Miss Cash said: 'When we got in he sat on the sofa. We sat for around ten minutes before he said he needed to get some air outside.'

His girlfriend said that Mr Hill had been gone for a long time before he returned panicked.

The restaurant failed to tell customers about allergens in their food with owner Abdul Khalid admitting he hadn't known which allergen information he was supposed to show

She added: 'He came to the door and said, "can you ring my mum to get my EpiPen?".

'As soon as I rang his mum she told me to ring an ambulance.'

In tears from the witness box, Miss Cash described how her boyfriend staggered outside before grabbing on to a gate in the garden.

She phoned the ambulance operator who told Mr Hill to breathe in a certain way.

Miss Cash added: 'The operator thought that he sounded alright but as soon as she said that he started turning blue.

'I told him to come inside and lay down but he just kept saying that he couldn't. 

'Seconds before the ambulance got there he dropped and I held him on the floor.'

Ambulance staff pumped Mr Hill's stomach and rushed him to the hospital but they were too late and he died just hours later.

Assistant coroner Tanyka Rawden asked Miss Cash if her boyfriend usually carried his EpiPen.

She replied: 'Not every time. He probably carried it 50/50. It was a case of him forgetting more than anything else.'

In December 2014, it became a legal requirement for any business serving non pre-packed food to inform customers of allergenic ingredients contained in their dishes.

Tragedy: This was the last photo of the couple together with Miss Cash later saying that she 'was the luckiest girl in the world' when they were together

Information can be displayed on a menu, blackboard or given verbally, but if given verbally businesses must have a clear sign or indication on the menu that information can be obtained by asking a member of staff.

The ingredients for the restaurant's 'traditional curries' were not listed on the menu and Mr Hill had not informed staff of his allergy before he ordered the meal, the inquest into his death heard.

It was only after a few mouthfuls of the 'funny tasting' curry Mr Hill asked to swap the meal and was told by the waiter it had contained nuts.

The inquest heard how Mr Hill had rushed to the bathroom to throw up before returning to the table and eating the second chicken curry meal.

Sheffield Coroner's Court also heard that during an inspection in December 2015, the kitchen in Shaam's restaurant still had incorrectly labelled products - seven months after Mr Hill's tragic death.

Despite the tragedy, an unlabeled coconut powder with both almonds and peanuts was discovered.

Christina Heeley, a food standards officer from Barnsley Council, said the coconut powder 'showed high levels of concentration of peanut' which could have triggered another reaction in someone with a severe peanut allergy.

Answering questions from the witness box, restaurant owner Abdul Khalid said staff were only given 'basic hygiene training' which consisted of a four hour course and test.

The inquest heard there were no allergen information posters in the restaurant.

Mr Khalid told the coroners court he had not been 100 per cent sure of the allergens he had to display in his restaurants until inspectors had arrived after Mr Hill's death.

Claire Marzano, addressing Mr Khalid on behalf of the family, said: 'It seems from the family point of view there was a trail of, at best, a lack of care and at worst gross negligence that stems from purchasing to staff training.

'The family will always hold you to account for his death.'

Environmental Health Officer Jarrod Wilkinson told the inquest there was 'no evidence staff had been trained in food hygiene training'. 

Miss Cash posted a number of tributes on Facebook to her boyfriend, describing him as the love of her life and saying she had been left heartbroken 

Both Miss Cash and Anthony Robinson, Mr Hill's father, said that the apprentice builder only carried his life-saving EpiPen some of the time

In an emotional post months after her boyfriend's death, Miss Cash paid tribute to him with his family saying they'd always hold the restaurant accountable for his death 

He listed a number of food hygiene problems and said there was waste in the yard, a general lack of routine cleaning and the staff didn't even wash their hands.

He gave the restaurant a two star hygiene rating at his visit in April 2014 and was due back for another inspection a month later.

Mr Wilkinson said: 'In my honest opinion allergen hygiene at the time wasn't part of a food hygiene inspection'.

He said this has since changed in a practice review in October 2015.

Mr Wilkinson said he was put on a long food fraud case and instead had to delay until the next scheduled routine inspection that had been in December 2015.