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Parents' plea after girl's allergy death on holiday

Louise Parry
BBC News, Buckinghamshire
Family handout A close up shot of Lily sitting inside next to a window, with a promenade and the sea behind it. She wears a white short sleeved ribbed top and a delicate gold necklace. She has long dark hair and the sun is shining on her back.Family handout
Milton Keynes coroner Dr Sean Cummings said Lily's death was 'avoidable'

The parents of a teenage girl who died in Morocco from an allergic reaction have urged others to be extra cautious eating out while on holiday.

Lily King, 18, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, was allergic to foods including nuts and sesame but her mother said they were reassured by a restaurant that she would be OK.

An inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court this week confirmed Lily died on 23 June 2024 from a cardio-respiratory arrest caused by anaphylaxis and triggered by food.

Lily's father, Michael, said: "Most restaurants in the UK are very careful, but many other countries don't have compulsory training programmes for staff around allergies."

He added: "Every time you eat out, especially abroad, it's Russian roulette.

"Someone needs to warn people who are going on holiday to other countries – not only Morocco – to be very, very wary of eating out. Especially if you don't have the language."

family handout Lily stands next to the steps of a boat on water, on a boardwalk. She wears sunglasses on her head, a patterned crop top and blue trousers. She has a pierced belly button and carries a black coat, and is smiling at the camera.family handout
Lily suffered from allergies to dairy, fish, seafood, nuts and sesame and her family usually avoided eating out

Lily had a catalogue of allergies for most of her life, the most severe being seafood, as well as nuts and sesame.

After leaving home to study economics at Exeter University, her parents said the allergies became worse.

"She wanted to be like her friends – a normal person. That led to her eating out more, but she was always very careful and carried her EpiPen and antihistamine pills.

Lily suffered her first ever anaphylactic shock that year while at a festival, and was treated by St John Ambulance.

Shortly afterwards she travelled to Morocco with her mum to visit family and celebrate completing her first year at university.

They chose a restaurant that Lily loved and had been to before.

family handout Lily sits on a white sofa and smiles at the camera while holding a phone. She is wearing tartan pink dress and has brown hair. family handout
Lily was "a lovely girl, a good student, who cared about other people", her parents said

Her mother, who comes from Morocco and speaks fluent Arabic, said she told restaurant staff three times about Lily's food allergies and what she could not eat, before ordering chicken and chips.

"The restaurant staff said we had to eat something, and I told them she had allergies and we would rather not eat, but they insisted it would be fine," Lily's mother Aicha told the BBC.

"I told them to be careful and they didn't listen."

The meal arrived with other food and a sauce on the plate.

"She literally took a tiny piece of food – we think it was carrot - and tasted it. She got an itchy tongue which she always had before a reaction," Michael said.

"She took a Piriton (antihistamine tablet) and used her EpiPen. She said 'I'm going outside to get some air'."

Her mum rushed out to join her and gave a second EpiPen injection.

"She was being very, very strong, because she said, 'Don't stress mum, you know I love you. I love you. I'm very sorry, I'm going', and then she passed out," she said.

A trip to the hospital was then delayed by two issues, the family said. The ambulance did not arrive, and Aicha said the restaurant insisted she paid for the food before leaving in her nephew's car.

"The next day, she came around temporarily but then had a seizure. Later they did a brain scan, but there was no activity," said Michael.

His daughter died in hospital four days after her visit to the restaurant.

"We never believed it would come to this. We're devastated.

"She meant the world to us, she was our baby. We had 18 marvellous years with her," he said.

Supplied Five people stand together outside the door of the register office. They wear smart clothes and look at the camera. Aicha has a black dress with large white flowers and a blue jacket, and shoulder length blonde hair. Michael wears a white t-shirt and a grey suit jacket.Supplied
Aicha and Michael (third and fourth from left) were supported at the inquest by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who also died from an allergic reaction

The family said it had tried to take the restaurant to court in order to raise the issue at a national level.

"We only want the Moroccan government to realise how important it is, and for their hospitality industry to recognise that restaurants should be told to educate their staff.

"I care about other families going through the same thing," said Michael.

Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, whose daughter Natasha died in 2016 from an allergic reaction to a baguette, said: "Lily's family did everything they could to keep her safe.

"Yet on this occasion even though Lily and her mother flagged her allergies, it still went dreadfully wrong.

"Lily's death highlights how dangerous food allergies can be and the potential risks of travelling abroad with food allergies."

What are the rules in the UK?

The UK Food Standards Agency states that food retailers and caterers are required to provide allergen information, as set out in food law.

They must:

  • Provide allergen information to the consumer for both prepacked and non-prepacked food and drink
  • Handle and manage food allergens effectively in food preparation
  • Make sure that staff receive training on allergens

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