'Bright and clever' teenager dies after 'buying £10 chemical online'

A young woman collapsed and died after apparently taking a chemical substance she is thought to have bought online for £10, an inquest jury has heard.

Chelsea Olivia Blair, 19, died on February 19, 2020, after she had been found collapsed at a bus shelter in Seacroft, Leeds, in the early hours of the morning. Passersby, police and paramedics carried out CPR but she could not be saved and died in St James' Hospital.

A post-mortem examination concluded she had died as a result of a high level of a chemical compound in her bloodstream. The name of the chemical was released at the inquest but LeedsLive has chosen not to publish it.

Read more: Leeds pub attack victim dies as man charged with murder and named

On Monday a jury was sworn in at Wakefield Coroner's Court to examine the circumstances because, at the time of her death, Chelsea was subject to detention under the Mental Health Act and was living at the Becklin Centre, a mental health unit in Leeds.

The hearing was told Chelsea had a history of self-harming and taking overdoses. Her dad Paul described his daughter as a 'bright and clever girl' who had began struggling with her mental health from the age of 15.

Chelsea had been sectioned at the Becklin Centre for around a year, said Paul, but was allowed home visits. Paul said he believed that Chelsea had planned to take her own life as she had left a number of notes.

He said: "She was always a bright and clever girl. She always thought she was not good enough - she was not happy with anything she did. I think taking her own life was the only way out for her. She is missed by all her family."

Chelsea had been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and had been treated in hospital many times due to harming herself, including cutting herself, taking overdoses and ingesting poisonous substances.

On the evening before she died, Chelsea had a conversation with a health worker and disclosed that she had bought some items which were at her dad's house and had 'in mind' the date of February 20 to harm herself, the inquest hearing was told. Chelsea had told the worker she had found a 'different way' to harm herself and had written 'suicide notes'.

Get all the latest and breaking news in Leeds by signing up to our newsletter here.

A police investigation found that a chemical costing £10 was thought to have been delivered to Chelsea's dad's house with a PayPal payment date just days before her tragic death. The online seller was advertising the chemical for sale for a 'legitimate purpose', according to a detective.

Laura Profumo, a barrister acting for Chelsea's mum, put a number of questions to Dr Paul Smith, a forensic toxicologist, about the chemical substance responsible for causing Chelsea's death.

Mr Smith said that Chelsea's death was one of the first cases linked to the substance but from 2020 onwards there was an increase in the number of incidents and by 2022 there had been 20 cases, possibly as a result of information published on online 'suicide forums'.

The hearing was told that Chelsea had regularly gone missing from the Becklin Centre.

The inquest continues.