Yorkshire / U.K. (RNC Agency) 05.08.1997

A seven-year-old boy was thought tonight to have become the youngest ever victim of solvent abuse. Details of the death of Christopher Smith, found unconscious with an open tin of tyre glue nearby, came on the same day that new figures suggested an increas e in fatalities involving young people sniffing glue and others solvents.

North Yorkshire Police said Christopher died in York District Hospital on Saturday a short time being found in the cab of a pick-up truck at the caravan site in York where he lived. A police spokesman said an open tin of trichloroethylene, a type of tyre g lue, was found near Christopher’s body, but the results of toxicology tests which would confirm cause of death were still awaited. Christopher lived at the permanent Roma camp with his grandparents Jack and Susan Smith. His father, also called Christopher , lives in another caravan on the same site. Mr Smith senior said : ‘’ The family have taken his death hard. We want to warn everybody who has kids to help stops something like this happening to them.’’ Mrs Smith, who found her grandson in the cab after he had been noticed missing, added : ‘’ He was laid on this tummy and i was squealing at him to speak to me. His dad came and took him to hospital. ‘’ He was just a seven-year-old and was looking forward to his birthday in October and was a sporting lad who would not do things like glue sniffing.’’

Figures produced today for the Department of Health showed that the number of deaths in England caused by sniffing glues, gases and aerosols rose from 48 in 1994 to 56 in 1995.