London - A boy of eight fell ill and died from scurvy after his parents failed to seek medical help - mistakenly thinking his condition was down to “growing pains”
Dylan Seabridge was killed by the rare and preventable disease caused by severe vitamin C deficiency, an inquest heard on Thursday. His unemployed parents Glynn and Julie, who home-schooled him and his brother in a remote Welsh village, were charged with neglect after their son’s death, but the case was dropped before it went to trial.
The couple blamed Dylan’s symptoms on growing pains and had not sought medical help, the inquest in Milford Haven heard.
Dylan collapsed at the family home in Eglwyswrw, Pembrokeshire, in December 2011.
Mr Seabridge, 47, told emergency services his son had been ill for two days and had “stopped breathing and was completely out of it”.
Paramedics found Dylan lying on the lounge floor unconscious with his father kneeling beside him.
The boy had swollen legs, bruising to his knee and ankle, and a rash and red spots on his lower legs. He was rushed to hospital but could not be revived.
Pembrokeshire coroner Mark Layton ruled that Dylan had died from scurvy and recorded an open conclusion.
Daily Mail