A MEDICAL student from Chesham Bois died after taking a weight loss drug bought from the internet, an inquest heard – prompting a coroner to call for a change in the law.

Sarah Houston, 23, who was found dead in her bedroom by a flatmate, had suffered from bulimia and depression in the past and had been seeing a psychiatrist for three years.

The inquest on Monday was told that Sarah had been prescribed the antidepressant Fluoxetine by her doctor but she was taking fat-burning drug DNP in secret alongside her medication.

DNP, a weight loss drug popular with bodybuilders, is a toxic industrial chemical used as a pesticide .

Following Sarah's death, 62 capsules of the drug, which was first used to treat obesity in the 1930s but was banned as a food substance due to its dangerous side effects, were found in her bedroom - 38 capsules from the packet were missing.

The inquest heard Sarah had complained of feeling hot and unwell and had been breathing heavily on the evening of September 24 last year.

Flatmate Sarah Carpenter told the hearing she noticed Sarah's eyes were yellow and she had to have two cold showers that evening to try and cool herself down.

Despite being encouraged to call an ambulance by her flatmate, Sarah, a medical student at the University of Leeds, insisted it wasn’t unusual for her to feel that way and said that her symptoms would pass.

She was found by another flatmate the following evening. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene in Leeds, West Yorks., where she studied, at around 5.15pm on September 25.

Matthew Wade, a toxicologist who specialises in the analysis of prohibited substances, confirmed DNP was detected in Sarah's blood at a level of 23 milligrams per litre.

Mr Wade told the inquest in Wakefield: "Because it is a banned substance, we don't really know what would be a safe level to have in the body. The drug affects different people in different ways.

"We have heard of several deaths caused by DNP and we know that whatever the dose, it can be life-threatening. It is not intended for human consumption and it is a poisonous substance. It therefore seems likely DNP consumption caused Sarah's death."

Dr Graham Mould, a forensic toxicologist, told the court that there was no evidence of an overdose, but the combination of DNP and Sarah's prescribed antidepressants may have proved fatal.

Dr Mould said: "The side effects of DNP were clearly present and it's possible that Fluoxetine may have exacerbated the affect of DNP. At a very high dose, Fluoxetine can have a similar affect to DNP and so one can speculate that the two drugs together might have speeded up the effect.

"As the law stands, DNP is not classed as an illegal drug but it is a banned food substance. The Food Standards Agency have previously issued a report warning people not to take DNP."

Dr John Morgan, a psychiatrist who specialises in eating disorders, who had seen Sarah regularly since 2010, told the inquest how she suffered from body image distortion.

He said: "Sarah made no secret of her bulimia. She unfairly compared herself with others and viewed the world through cognitive distortion.

"Her drive to lose weight was always there and she was fearful of weight gain. She was most likely taking DNP to satisfy her own need to control her weight."

Sarah was a healthy weight, with a body mass index of 23, and no one knew she had been taking the drug alongside her prescribed antidepressants.

Dr Morgan said that when he last saw Sarah in September she seemed improved and showed no sign of wanting to harm herself.

DNP, full name Dinitrophenol, was linked to 62 deaths in a study published last year in the Journal of Medical Toxicity.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, Coroner David Hinchliff said: "The only motive for manufacturing a toxic substance as a slimming aid would be to profit from people who have the misfortune of having a condition such as Sarah's.

"Anyone who professionally manufactures capsules to be taken as a drug have the intention of people using it as a drug.

"Sarah's death is a consequence of that.

"I'm aware it may have reacted with Fluoxetine but I lay the blame entirely at the door of DNP.

"I don't believe for a moment that Sarah wanted to harm herself.

"I intend to make recommendations to the relevant Government departments to call for a change in the law. That would be the first step on the long road to trying to get substances controlled and I hope it becomes a campaign."

The death of 28-year-old High Wycombe man Sean Cleathero in October last year has also been linked to the drug DNP.