**Expert Evidence Sheds Light on Boy’s Tragic Death Despite Allergy Injection**
A heart-breaking inquest in Peterborough has sought to uncover the circumstances around the death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who passed away after suffering a severe allergic reaction at his school. Despite staff actions to administer his prescribed adrenaline injection almost immediately, medical evidence indicated that the life-saving intervention came too late to alter the outcome.
Testimony from classroom teacher Jenny Brass painted a poignant picture of Benedict’s final hours at Barnack Primary School, Stamford. Describing him as “the smartest kid in my class,” she recounted a normal, happy start to the day on 1 December 2021, with Benedict joining in enthusiastically during early lessons. However, following a morning break, the atmosphere changed dramatically when Benedict suddenly vomited without warning in the classroom.
According to Miss Brass, Benedict initially appeared only a little unwell, exhibiting some redness above his lips. After being sick for a second time, he was taken outdoors for fresh air. It was there, while discussing his advent calendar, that he went “grey and floppy” – a sign, according to experts, of his body succumbing rapidly to anaphylaxis.
The sequence of events that followed was both urgent and distressing. Within minutes, one of the two adrenaline auto-injectors prescribed for Benedict was used in an effort to halt the allergic reaction; a second dose followed a short time later, as CPR was commenced by a teaching assistant. Emergency services were called, but tragically, Benedict was pronounced dead later that day in hospital.
Benedict’s medical history included acute allergic reactions to cow’s milk, well-known to both his teachers and parents, Helen and Pete Blythe. The family provided oat milk for him, and Miss Brass detailed her procedure for handling this – noting that on that day Benedict refused the drink and purportedly poured it away. However, evidence on whether he might have accidentally ingested allergen-laced milk, either through cross-contamination or mislabelling, has been closely examined during the inquest.
Conflicting accounts have emerged regarding the handling of milk. Miss Brass admitted she couldn’t observe Benedict pour his drink away first-hand, and police footage captured her suggesting he “didn’t really touch much of the milk.” Furthermore, earlier evidence from the biscuit manufacturer McVitie’s ruled out the presence of milk allergens in the snack Benedict had eaten during break, narrowing the field as the probe sought a trigger for the brief but catastrophic reaction.
The inquest heard moving testimony from Miss Brass, who described the lasting trauma she has experienced as a result of the incident, calling for better support for teaching staff who encounter similar tragedies. “Benedict is still in my thoughts,” she told the court.
A key part of the inquest came as Professor Alan Fletcher, emergency medicine consultant, explained the devastating rapidity of anaphylaxis. Speaking from more than three decades of experience, Professor Fletcher clarified to the jury that the body’s response can escalate “exponentially,” with circulation shutting down within minutes. Crucially, he detailed that by the time Benedict went limp and colourless, his heart had likely stopped and the tissue was no longer being adequately supplied with blood, making the subsequent injections ineffective.
Professor Fletcher stated: “The point that [the adrenaline] would have worked was, on the balance of probabilities, when he was conscious and breathing. When he went floppy it would not have worked – children’s circulation falls off a cliff in cardiac arrest. It happens rapidly – in seconds.”
He further emphasised that only advanced interventions, such as giving oxygen, intravenous fluids, and adrenaline directly into the bloodstream, could offer hope for reversing such a severe reaction once cardiac arrest had occurred.
This detailed medical insight serves as an important reminder of both the unpredictable nature of severe allergies and the limitations of standard emergency treatments such as adrenaline pens outside hospital settings. Professor Fletcher also advised that the initial symptoms observed – vomiting and lip redness – are not specifically diagnostic of anaphylaxis, underlining the challenges faced by those supervising young children with severe allergies.
The inquest, which is scheduled to run until 11 July, has heard from a range of witnesses, including Benedict’s grieving parents, school staff, and experts in allergies and asthma. The Department for Education is also expected to provide evidence as the inquiry continues its search for answers and recommendations.
As the school community and Benedict’s family continue to come to terms with their devastating loss, questions around recognising and managing life-threatening allergies in school settings remain urgent. The inquest’s findings will undoubtedly focus attention on safeguarding children at risk and supporting the adults entrusted with their care.