Schoolboy, 17, who fell into a coma after taking laughing gas with friends dies four weeks later

Joe Benett (pictured) died four weeks after inhaling laughing gas at a party

The sister of a promising art student who fell into a coma after inhaling laughing gas at a friend's home has told of her anguish as she held her hand when her brother died.
Joe Benett, 17, suffered a heart attack and brain damage after inhaling nitrous oxide from a canister with his friends.
Joe, from Hampstead, north London, lay in a coma in hospital for four weeks while his father David, mother Roseann, and sister Camille staged a round-the-clock vigil at his bedside.
But the damage done by the lethal nitrous oxide gas was too severe for the outstanding pupil of the exclusive University College School (UCS), and he died last Thursday while his father and sister held his hand.
Now Miss Benett, 27, of Hampstead, has warned others to think about those they could hurt by experimenting with nitrous oxide.
Miss Benett said: 'He just never woke up. He had such terrible brain damage and his fits were getting worse. When he stopped breathing, my dad and I were holding his hand.'
She added: 'I found it hard to leave him. As a big sister I felt a responsibility to look after my little brother.'
Bright Joe was about to begin his final year at UCS independent school in Frognal, Hampstead, which charges £5,525 a term for students in sixth form.
But the popular teenager, who would have turned 18 next month, collapsed after inhaling the popular but lethal party drug at his friend's house in Hertfordshire on August 31.

 

He was cared for at St John’s Hospice, in St John’s Wood, North London, before he died.
Despite the legal high being widely available at music festivals, bars and nightclubs, it is against the law to sell laughing gas for recreational use.

Joe pictured with his sister, Camille, who was holding his hand when he died following a bedside vigil by the family

Joe's head teacher, Kenneth Durham, said the 17-year-old was very talented and his friends had been left devastated by his death

'I think having experienced how much this hurts, people should think about whether they are putting themselves in danger,' said Camille.
'You do need to think about what you are doing, not just for yourself but for the sake of the people who love you.'
Joe had previously attended Saint Christina's primary school, St John's Wood, and St Anthony's School, Hampstead.
Staff and pupils at UCS have been stunned by the clever sixth-former's death.

The promising student attended exclusive University College School, but died after inhaling nitrous oxide

A EUPHORIC DRUG WITH THE POTENTIAL TO KILL

Nitrous oxide can produce alarming side-effects: strokes, hallucinations,  seizures, blackouts, incontinence, stress on the heart, chronic depression and even — in cases of prolonged use — depleted bone marrow.

Nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas, N2O and sweet air — gives users an intense euphoria which some have likened to the effects of heroin and crack cocaine.
When inhaled, nitrous oxide dissolves in the bloodstream, depleting the blood of oxygen and reducing its flow to the brain and other vital organs. An overdose can be fatal.

Headteacher Kenneth Durham said: 'It is an absolute tragedy.
'His friends are terribly upset. He was very talented. We will remember Joe and support his family.'
Dr Alan McGlennan, a consultant anaesthetist at Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, warned that taking laughing gas recreationally was 'in vogue' but it can starve the brain of oxygen.
An inquest into Joe's death was opened and adjourned at Hertfordshire Coroner's Office on Monday.
His funeral will take place at the Roman Catholic Church of St Mary's, Hampstead, on October 11.
Cheap, seemingly harmless and guaranteeing a night of raucous laughter, laughing gas has become increasingly popular with celebrities and their young fans.