Roller skating event for girl who died from inhaling deodorant

The family of a girl who died after inhaling aerosol deodorant are holding a roller skating event to celebrate her life and raise awareness.

Giorgia Green, who was 14 when she died a year ago, loved roller skating after being introduced to it by her dad.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the event at Rollerworld in Derby on Sunday.

Giorgia's parents have campaigned over the dangers of inhaling deodorant since she died on 11 May 2022.

"We are holding the event to raise awareness in the hope we can reach enough people and hopefully stop this from happening to somebody else," said her father, Paul Green.

Mr Green started skating himself in the 80s, and first took Giorgia when she was four or five.

"I've always wanted my kids and grandkids to roller skate so I made sure I got in there early," he said.

Giorgia's older brother and four nieces will all be at the event, which is being held from 18:00 to 21:00 BST.

"At the moment I think we've got about 300 confirmed but there could be more," said Mr Green.

Giorgia loved roller skating herself

Giorgia had a cardiac arrest after spraying a higher than normal amount of deodorant in her bedroom.

She was autistic and her father said she liked to spray deodorant on blankets as she found the smell comforting.

"I had no idea that you could use something as sort of innocent seeming as a deodorant and that it could stop your heart," said her father.

An inquest was held into Giorgia's death and the coroner recorded the conclusion as misadventure.

Her medical cause of death was "unascertained but consistent with inhalation of aerosol".

After Giorgia's death, her parents became aware of other young people accidentally dying after inhaling deodorant.

Giorgia's dad introduced her to skating when she was only four or five

Other children to have died include 12-year-old Daniel Hurley, also from Derbyshire, who collapsed and died after spraying himself with deodorant in a bathroom.

More recently, 13-year-old Jack Waple died in similar circumstances to Giorgia in 2019. His inquest heard he sprayed deodorant if he felt anxious when his mother left the house, as it smelled like her.

Most aerosol deodorants have a warning that says "solvent abuse can kill instantly", which is not a legal requirement, but is recommended by the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association (BAMA).

Giorgia's parents believe the warning should be changed to "solvent use can kill instantly", because Giorgia was not abusing deodorant.

BAMA said in a statement: "As an industry association we work with manufacturers to ensure that aerosols are made to the highest safety standards and are labelled with very clear warnings and usage instructions and recommend that anyone using an aerosol does so in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions."