The cause is suspected to be the inhalation of LAUGHING GAS!

Ellen Mercer The 24-year-old was taken to hospital in February last year after reporting she was unable to walk, the Berkshire Coroner said.

She was treated by medical staff at the hospital’s emergency department Wexham Park, but she died 24 hours later.

Senior Coroner Heidi Connor told the inquest that part of the cause of her death was linked to nitrous oxide gas, also known as laughing gas, which is used in dentistry.

An autopsy report determined that Mercer’s death was caused by bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis and “long-term complications of nitrous oxide use.”

Michaela Kirtley, an emergency medical technician, visited Mercer the day before she reported being unable to walk.

When she arrived at the scene, Ellen Mercer’s boyfriend led her into the bedroom.

– I paid attention to the room. There were no sheets on the bed at all. It was just a mattress, badly stained. The room was bare – said Kirtley.

She said the scene made it clear to her that she was dealing with a “vulnerable person”.

She said Mercer was “talking normally” and the only vital sign that was out of the normal range was her heart rate, which could have been due to anxiety.

Mercer told her she burned her legs after spilling a gas canister on them and was unable to walk or go to the bathroom for two weeks.

According to the medical technician, it looked like Mercer was six months pregnant.

Mercer’s boyfriend showed her canisters of gas, which Kirtley said was nitrous oxide.

– I have never seen so many bottles – said Kirtley.

Ellen Mercer’s boyfriend said she was taking “two to three bottles a day” but had cut back in recent weeks.

Mercer said she passed out and one of the bottles landed on her feet.

EMS then took Mercer to the hospital.

At the time of the student’s death, possessing laughing gas with the intent to take drugs was not illegal in Britain. The government later banned it.

The investigation continues.