Harry Bolton found a £1 coin-sized infected wound on his back (Picture: MEN Media)
A bright student, 19, died of sepsis after he was found with a wound the size of a £1 coin from a suspected spider bite.
University of Hull student Harry Bolton, 19, told his roommates at his home in Chancellors Walk on October 3 last year he was feeling unwell.
But just four days later, worried roommates found Bolton dead in his room.
An inquest heard his housemate texted and knocked on Bolton’s door only to get no reply on October 7, with security having to knock his door down.
The light was found switched on in his room and Bolton was lying in his bed with his eyed and mouth open.
He was cold to the touch, his housemates said, and the housing complex security team noticed his chest was not moving, the inquest heard.
Emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene as they noticed he had a £1 coin-sized and infected wound on his back.
The University of Hull student briefly went to A&E about the bite (Picture: Google Maps)
Bolton was hospitalised earlier for what he said was a spider bite, ending up at Hull Royal Infirmity at 9:40pm with a high temperature and high heart rate.
Medical workers undertook a c-reactive protein (CRP) blood test to see how much of the protein was in Bolton’s blood – a surefire way to gauge inflammation.
The test came back with a level of 54 that indicated inflation, but A&E consultant Ben Rayer told the court that was not something that would’ve been considered a red flag.
Bolton self-discharged at 1:01am, telling a staffer he would swing by the walk-on centre the next day.
The following morning was the last time Bolton’s housemates would see him.
The inquest heard how students claimed there was a spider infestation in the house, while maintenance workers found little evidence of this.
Housemate Kacper-Krysztof Zydron told the court he received a similar bite on August 2021, saying it hurt ‘a bit’ at first but days later he couldn’t move his neck.
The 19-year-old’s housemate also suffered a similar spider bite (Picture: MEN Media)
He went to A&E and was told to take some painkillers. Zydron’s parents ended up removing the pus from his infection to help relieve the pain.
Calling his GP, he was given antibiotics to heal the wound and clear the infection.
He emailed Ashcourt Student Housing about the suspected spider bite, attaching to it an image of a common house spider.
Though, the inquest heard an inspection by the maintenance team found no signs of infestation.
There was a normal number of insects in the house given the time of year, a pest control team later found.
A clause in the tenancy agreement said that low-level pest intrusions, such as house spiders, were the responsibility of tenants.
Coroner Paul Marks said Bolton’s death was caused by sepsis, due to an acute chest infection, due to the infected wound on his back.
He said: ‘Had he not been bitten by an invertebrate, possibly a spider, he would not have died at that time. It is an incredibly unfortunate case.
‘He had a promising future ahead of him.’
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‘He had a promising future ahead of him.’Â
