THE family of an 11-year-old who died from an asthma attack have paid tribute to their ‘deeply loving and caring boy’ at his inquest.

Corey Dash, from Penhill, died in the early hours of September 1, 2016, at the Great Western Hospital after he suffered an asthma attack.

The Pinehurst School pupil, who was diagnosed with asthma aged five, began experiencing breathing difficulties the evening before his death. He suddenly deteriorated and went into cardiac arrest.

Emergency services, called at 11.58pm, found Corey did not have a pulse. He was given resuscitation and transported to GWH at 12.35am.

Although the medical team managed to get Corey’s heart started again, this only lasted for 10-15 minutes before he went into cardiac arrest again and died at 1.20am.

Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court at Salisbury heard Corey experienced breathing difficulties around every two months but was otherwise healthy and happy.

A statement on behalf of Corey’s family said: “Corey was taken from us by a devastating and unexpected acute asthma attack.

"He was a deeply loved son, grandson, nephew and cousin and he will be greatly missed by his family and everyone who knew him.

“He was a very caring boy and even now the house feels empty without him.”

In a statement Corey’s mother, Katie, said her son had started to feel unwell at 8pm the night before his death: “Corey said he could feel an asthma attack coming on. He wasn’t having breathing difficulties but said he could feel it in his chest.

"It didn’t seem as bad as the other attacks he had had.”

Corey became wheezy, clammy and pale. His mother took him to his grandmother’s nearby, who would look after Corey’s two brothers if they needed to go to hospital.

She said: “He was sat on the sofa and I went into the kitchen to call the ambulance and my mum said they need to get here now. I looked in and saw Corey was slumped forward and unresponsive.

"I realised he wasn’t breathing. I panicked and my mum took over.”

In the months leading up to Corey’s death, the instances of breathing difficulties increased. His mother took him to GWH or doctor’s surgeries for treatment and advice on his asthma plan.

In December 2015 he was taken to hospital when he had breathing difficulties.

On July 11, 2016, he woke up struggling to breathe and received medical attention at the doctor’s surgery.

Corey again saw a doctor on August 18 when he experienced shortness of breath and was prescribed steroid Prednisolone via a nebuliser after which he improved.

Dr Paul O’Keeffe, consultant paediatrician at the Great Western Hospital, said the under-use of a preventative inhaler may have been a ‘factor’ in the attack.

He also said:” Overuse of Ventolin can make the lungs very irritable and excitable, the more likely they are to go into spasms.”

Dr O'Keefe said after the conclusion:

"Under use of preventer medications have been associated with asthma deaths in adults and children.

"Overuse or excessive use of reliever medications such as Salbutamol (Ventolin being the most common trade name for the drug) can paradoxically lead to the airways becoming more irritable and excitable and have also been linked to sudden and unexpected deaths in asthma."

In her conclusion Dr Claire Balysyz, assistant coroner for Swindon & Wiltshire said: “Corey’s rapid and severe deterioration could not have been predicted. I have no concerns about the care Corey received. My conclusion is that he died of natural causes.”

Corey, who had two brothers and two stepbrothers, was a fan of X-Box and Playstation and hoped to be a gamer when he grew up.

His family now want to raise awareness of the dangers of asthma attacks.

They said: “We will never forget Corey, nor can we change the past but we can try to raise awareness of the risks of asthma attacks."

The family has asked that any parents worried about their child’s asthma visit the Asthma UK website at asthma.org.uk