Copyright dailyrecord
The mum of a 12-year-old boy who died after he copied a TikTok trend issued a heartbreaking warning to families following an inquest into the tragedy. Oliver Gorman was found unresponsive in his bedroom at his family's home in Hyde, Tameside, in May this year. He had returned home with his family from a holiday less than an hour before his death. Mum Clare Gillespie, 42, began CPR and after emergency services arrived, Oliver was airlifted to Tameside General Hospital. Despite extensive resuscitation attempts, he could not be saved. It was thought Oliver was copying a TikTok trend known as 'chroming' or 'huffing', in which people film themselves getting 'high' from the fumes of products such as deodorants. A post-mortem found he died as a result of the inhalation of butane, a propellant found in many aerosol deodorants. Numerous empty Lynx and Aldi deodorant cans were found scattered around Oliver's room, his inquest heard. South Manchester Coroners' Court heard how chroming had become a 'TikTok challenge' and people would widely share videos on the platform. Police were unable to access Oliver's phone after his death. It is not known how he became aware of the trend. Assistant coroner Andrew Bridgman concluded Oliver did not intend to take his own life, saying he believed it was a case of 'recreational enjoyment' that went 'tragically wrong'. He recorded a conclusion of misadventure. Mr Bridgman raised a 'major concern' about the spread of the so-called challenges on TikTok and accused the platform of 'disseminating these challenges quite happily', making them 'easily accessible' to impressionable youngsters. He called for better warning labels and potential age restrictions on buying aerosol deodorants. Our sister title the Manchester Evening News asked TikTok for a comment. A spokesperson said the company has 'not received any requests from the coroner', adding: "Nor have we had any engagement with law enforcement in relation to this case, but we would engage where required." They said TikTok does not allow 'videos showing or promoting dangerous activity or challenges' and that '99 per cent' of rule-breaking content is 'proactively' found before it is reported. The spokesperson said warnings about inhalant abuse go back 'decades' and that 'chroming' cannot 'be described as a TikTok craze'. "There is no evidence of this type of content trending on our platform," they added. "If a user searches for 'huffing', they are shown a warning titled 'Be informed and aware', which continues 'Some substances can be dangerous when used or misused', before directing the user to a page where they can seek support in relation to substance abuse," the spokesperson said. "When someone tries to search for a known dangerous challenge, no results are shown." In court Oliver's mum issued a warning to families after her son was dead 20 minutes after going into his room. She said: "Every Christmas we had a standing joke that we had never had so much chocolate and so much deodorant from gift sets. Every teenage boy gets a Lynx set in his stocking for Christmas - and that's what frightens me. "We just want to raise awareness for children and parents. It was the speed of it. He had 20 minutes in his bedroom and he was gone. "We don't want any mother or father to have to do what I had to do for my boy... the CPR and mouth-to-mouth. I will never get that image out of my head." Clare, a hairdresser of more than 25 years, added: "I never even knew there was a thing called 'chroming'. I was around solvents like hairspray all these years and I never knew that they could kill you. "All I knew about solvents was that they were flammable. I didn't know they could kill you, especially that quick." "Just don't buy them," she said in a message to parents. "Don't have them in your home. Take every precaution you can. Listen to your gut. I never thought it would happen to my child. Clare's dad - Oliver's grandad - Stephen Wilkinson, 61, said: "I think it's a one-off that's gone wrong, which makes it even more dangerous. If you get a second chance, you're one of the lucky ones." Clare and family friends have set up the 'Oliver's Awareness' campaign, initially focussed on spreading awareness of the signs of bullying and cyberbullying. As well as writing to the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association regarding 'inadequate' warning labels, and the Business Secretary about potential age restrictions on buying them, coroner Mr Bridgman said he would write to the Culture Secretary on his concerns about TikTok. Clare said the 'Oliver's Awareness' campaign would also now start looking at spreading awareness around online safety for youngsters. The current minimum age for a child to have a TikTok account is 13 and Clare said she would like to see that raised. "I joined Facebook to speak to relatives in Australia, that's what social media was invented for," she said. "Now there's people daring children to take their own lives or to do something that could end up in horrendous circumstances. "People are going about their lives because of these trends."
