A SOUTHAMPTON man died after choking to death on a meal at a day centre because he had small teeth.

Philip Howard died after choking on a meal at Woolston Day centre.

The 65-year-old who was born with Downs Syndrome, lived with his sister in Portview Road and was a regular at the centre.

Sharon Stewart Adult Social Care leader at Southampton council said that he had not needed assistance eating, but had previously sought treatment for teeth grinding.

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard how on October 27, Mr Howard was eating a tuna and cous cous ready meal in the centre’s cafe when he began choking.

Staff slapped him on the back and performed stomach thrusts but were unsuccessful and performed CPR while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Mr Howard was taken to Southampton hospital where a scan revealed that he had suffered from brain damage and would not recover.

On October 30, Mr Howard died at Southampton General Hospital.

A post mortem report from Elenor Jaynes revealed that Mr Howard had small teeth and was missing his back molars.

She concluded that Mr Howard had died from brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen, and said his small teeth were a contributory factor.

Senior Coroner Grahame Short said: “He had no problem chewing but there was a problem with him grinding his teeth and several were missing which I feel was a factor in his death.”

Mr Short concluded that Mr Howard’s death was the result of an accident.