Shrewsbury student dies after taking 'online diet pills'

Eloise Aimee Parry died in hospital on 12 April

A woman has died after taking suspected diet pills bought online, police said.

Eloise Aimee Parry, 21, from Shrewsbury, died in hospital on 12 April after becoming unwell.

Police said the tablets were being tested, but are believed to contain dinitrophenol, known as DNP, which is a highly toxic industrial chemical.

Her mother Fiona Parry said there was "no great panic" until a toxicology report revealed "how dire her situation was" because there was "no antidote".

She said her daughter, who was a student at Glyndwr University, had walked into A&E.

'Uphill battle'

"The drug was in her system, there was no antidote, two tablets was a lethal dose - and she had taken eight," she said.

"As the drug kicked in and started to make her metabolism soar, they attempted to cool her down, but they were fighting an uphill battle.

"She had taken so much DNP that the consequences were inevitable."

Ms Parry said her daughter would be "missed by everyone who knew her".

A coroner's report will establish the exact cause of Ms Parry's death and police have warned others about buying diet pills online.

"We are undoubtedly concerned over the origin and sale of these pills and are working with partner agencies to establish where they were bought from and how they were advertised," Ch Insp Jennifer Mattinson said.

"We urge the public to be incredibly careful when purchasing medicine or supplements over the internet.

"Substances from unregistered websites could put your health at risk as they could be extremely harmful, out-of-date or fake," she said.

The Food Standards Agency has previously advised people not to take any tablets or powders containing DNP, which it said was not fit for human consumption.