Mother’s horror as boy, 11, accidentally killed himself by sniffing Ted Baker body spray in his bedroom in lethal ‘Chroming’ TikTok craze

An 11-year-old boy accidentally killed himself while trying to get high by sniffing Ted Baker body spray aerosol in his bedroom late at night.

Freddie Davis had hidden the spray can in his dressing gown when his mother found his cold body in bed when she went to wake him up for school the next morning.

Grade 7 student died after inhaling butane aerosol propellant; An inquest into her death heard this week, prompting the coroner to warn parents about the dangerous trend.

Freddie’s mother, Roseanne Thompson, later said she had heard that kids her son’s age were trying to sniff aerosols from videos on TikTok, and even stopped buying him deodorant spray preemptively to protect him.

Mrs Thompason, who published photos of her son in the Daily Mail as a way of highlighting the dangers to other parents, said: ‘Aerosols kill.’

His parents and both grandparents were present at the inquest at East London Coroner’s Court in Walthamstow, east London.

The court heard Freddie was an ‘outgoing boy who loved sport and learning’, enjoyed school and was popular and respectful.

On the weekend of his death in January last year, he had stayed at a friend’s house in Brentwood, Essex, and was ‘joked’ when he was told he would have to be home in time for dinner on Sunday.

Grade 7 student Freddie died after inhaling butane aerosol propellant. When his cold body was found in bed by his mother, he had hidden the spray can in his dressing gown.

Freddie’s death prompted a coroner at an inquest this week to issue a warning to parents about a dangerous TikTok trend called ‘Chroming’, in which people inhale common household items such as nail polish, paint and spray cans.

In a written statement, her mother said she offered to help her adjust the lights in her bedroom that evening, but she had to tidy it up first.

He came downstairs around 21.20, saying he couldn’t sleep.

After going upstairs the rest of the family went to bed, but Freddie came into his mother’s room twice and asked for a phone charger.

He offered to keep his phone overnight to charge it, and Freddie asked if he could wake him up at 6.30am the next morning because he had school – he had recently started at Drapers Academy in Harold Hill.

Ms Thompson said she eventually fell asleep, heard nothing during the night and woke up at around 6.20am the next morning on Monday, January 20, 2025.

His statement read: ‘I went to his room to wake him up.’ I opened the door and called out ‘Fred’ as I do most mornings.

‘I could see that he was lying face down, face down. I called Fred again. Normally he would have responded by now.

‘I started analyzing his position and asked ‘why is he like that?’ I was thinking. When I put my hand on his shoulder, I noticed that he was colder than usual.

‘I called for help and said, ‘I think Fred’s gone.’ I called 999 and said to the operator: ‘I think my son is dead.’

Freddie was turned over so CPR could be performed but Miss Thompson said: ‘I knew he was dead.’

PC Neil Price, of the Met Police, attended the scene in Harold Hill, east London.

‘The scene was clearly emotional,’ said PC Price. ‘There was a smell coming from the room, but I couldn’t distinguish what it was at that moment.’

As Freddie rolled over, a can of Ted Baker spray fell out of his dressing gown.

The London Ambulance Service confirmed that the child was dead and therefore CPR was not performed.

No problems were found during the search at the house.

No one knows where she got the box, but Ms. Thompson believes a friend may have introduced her to this dangerous trend.

Four electronic cigarettes were also found in Freddie’s bedroom.

A report compiled by two senior police officers confirmed that the computer and phone recovered from the scene contained nothing relevant.

He said: ‘There was no evidence of any discussion of inhaling solvents or discussions with others about the use of such things.’

She continued: ‘Mum was visibly shocked by the deodorant.

They had started taking ‘Freddie Lynx’ and it would be vacant within 24 hours.

‘There was a trend where kids would empty deodorant cans into socks and use it to get high.

‘They explained the risks to him and started buying him roll-on deodorant.’

Police spoke to Freddie’s friends and school and there was nothing to suggest bullying or any tendency towards aerosol inhalation.

Freddie was a popular and respectful kid who loved sports, loved school.

The court heard the school held follow-up meetings and asked anyone with information to come forward, but no-one was able to provide any information about the death.

Ms Thompson, 34, told the hearing that she heard about a TikTok trend called ‘Chroming’ a year before Freddie’s death and sat Freddie down to warn him never to join the trend.

Chromeing videos are still available on TikTok. We see people inhaling common household items like nail polish, paint, and spray cans.

A police report into Freddie’s death stated that officers were aware of a trend of children emptying cans of deodorant into socks and using them to get drunk.

But the court heard Freddie had not researched the trend online, had not done any research into aerosols or suicide, and his friends had failed to shed light on what was going on.

Ms Thompson told the court she started buying Lynx spray for herself but once realized the entire bottle was gone within 24 hours.

After that, and hearing about the sniffing trend, Ms. Thompson started buying Freddie roll-on deodorant instead.

Forensic toxicologist John Slaughter said propane, butane and isobutane were found in Freddie’s tissue samples, consistent with the contents of the box.

Spraying the aerosol into the respiratory tract is highly toxic and can cause coma.

He added that sudden cold can also stimulate the vagus nerve, causing dangerous heart arrhythmias.

Pathologist Dr Liina Palm (CORR) said the cause of death was inhalation of butane aerosol propellant.

At the conclusion of the inquest, coroner Nadia Persaud also said parents should be aware of the possibility of aerosol use in their children.

District coroner Miss Persaud said: ‘I don’t know whether parents are aware of the danger of these aerosols but I think there needs to be more publicity.’

And he said he would write to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to make them aware of the case.

Friends and family raised more than £1,700 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity; The GoFundMe described Freddie as ‘full of life and laughter’.

‘Aerosols kill,’ Ms Thompson, who split from Freddie’s father Ashlie Davis, 37, later said.

‘Children are easily manipulated and unaware of the dangers.

‘I can’t even risk bringing aerosols near my family anymore, I won’t even have them in the house.

‘These things kill people.’

Freddie’s death follows dozens more in the UK, both from intentional inhalation and accidental inhalation of too much spray.

There were 716 inhalant-related deaths recorded in England and Wales between 2001 and 2020; An average of 36 deaths occurred each year, with the overwhelming majority (77.9%) among men.

Fuels were the most common volatile substances named on the death certificate and were involved in 59.5% of deaths; butane and propane (both commonly found in aerosols) were implicated in 447 deaths.

Her mother, Roseanne, said in a written statement that she believed that a friend introduced her to the TikTok craze and that other parents should be warned about this. Roseanne started buying Freddie Lynx spray but noticed that an entire bottle was gone within 24 hours.

At the end of Freddie’s inquest, coroner Nadia Persaud also said parents should be aware of the possibility of aerosol use in their children.

RoSPA’s public health advisor Ashley Martin previously said: ‘It’s easy to assume these are completely safe and completely risk-free. The truth is they are not.

Inhaling large amounts of aerosols, not just deodorants, can lead to a range of life-threatening scenarios, from loss of consciousness and breathing difficulties to heart rhythm changes and unfortunately death.

‘There is a common misconception that deaths from aerosols only occur in a substance abuse scenario, but this is simply not true.

‘In recent years we have witnessed a number of fatalities where children and young adults overexposed aerosols; From teenagers who are conscious of body odor to children who seek reassurance through familiar scents.’

The coroner noted that Freddie’s death was accidental.