Diet pill death: Mum's relief at websites shutdown after Eloise Parry's tragic death

Fiona Parry described the Food Standards Agency's announcement that the websites selling 2,4-dinitrophenol – a chemical that has been linked to a series of deaths in the UK – had been shut down in the past year as a "positive move".

But she said more needed to be done to combat hidden sites on the so-called dark web that are still selling the products.

Mrs Parry's 21-year-old Eloise from Condover, near Shrewsbury, died in April last year after taking diet pills she had bought over the internet.

Following her death, an inquest was told that Eloise – who struggled with an eating disorder – had taken the unlicensed diet tablets which contained the industrial chemical.

John Ellery, coroner for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, recorded a conclusion of accidental death and wrote to the Government backing police and other agencies who want a crackdown on the sale of the pills.

Mrs Parry said: "You have got to try and be positive. They have closed 19 sites and their investigation is still ongoing. More needs to be done about this but it is a positive move for us.

"I dread to think how many sites there are. If people want these they will always find a way to get them. Closing down 19 sites is a small number but it is still something."

DNP is an industrial chemical licensed for commercial use but not for human consumption.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron raised the issue in the Commons following the death of Sarah Houston, who died in Leeds in 2012 after she had taken pills containing DNP.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency seized £1.4 million worth of unlicensed dietary medicines in 2015/16 – £960,000 more than two years before.

Lynda Scammell, senior policy manager at the MHRA, said: "The consequences for your health can be devastating."