A 19-year-old girl tragically lost her life just days after she marked her 10-month anniversary with her boyfriend by enjoying a celebratory meal at Wagamama in Uxbridge .
Alice Brooks suffered from several allergies since she was a child, including fish and latex. However it was her severe reaction to eating and being close to nuts which became the most prominent throughout her young life.
At an inquest into her death, held at West London Coroners Court on Wednesday (September 19) her mother, Suzanne Wilby, described how her daughter previously suffered a reaction after sipping a bottle of Coca Cola belonging to someone who had eaten a snickers bar several hours earlier.
As a child she also suffered heavy breathing when someone sat close to her ate a bag of nuts and one day she was sent home from working in a bakery when she had a severe reaction to a colleague baking a walnut cake.
However, in an inquest held almost four years after her death, it was revealed that on the day Alice collapsed and was rushed to hospital, she suffered a suspected allergic reaction after eating at Wagamama - with her boyfriend to celebrate their anniversary.
Celebratory meal with boyfriend
Boyfriend Michael Jeffries told the court how he and Alice visited the popular shopping centre to celebrate their anniversary on November 25, 2014.
"It was our 10-month anniversary and for that I surprised her by getting her tattoo re-done, on her left thigh," he said.
"After that we went to Uxbridge to do some Christmas shopping and for lunch.
"We went to Wagamama, I'd never been before but she wanted to go there, at that point everything was fine.
"Whenever we went for food she would ask about nuts and look at the allergy charts.
"The waitress came over and asked what we wanted and Alice asked if there were nuts in the dish she wanted. The manager then came over with the allergy chart and confirmed nothing on it was in the food
"Alice made sure it didn't contain nuts but she asked to double check."
'I saw her lips turning blue'
Mr Jeffries continued: "We finished the food, and went out and we carried on to do more Christmas shopping.
"We were walking into The Pavilions when she started to feel unwell so we decided to walk back to the car.
"She used her inhaler which leveled her breathing out, but only for a bit and then it was getting worse and worse every time. I'd never seen her breathing so bad.
"We got to the fourth floor of the car park and into the car and then she said she really didn't feel very good.
"She said her throat was frozen up and her breathing was really bad at that point, her lips started turning blue and that was when she had an anaphylactic shock - in the driver's seat.
"I got her out of the car and stood over her and her breathing got worse.
"She got her epipen out but she passed out before she could use it. She told me to get it from her bag, I took it and put it in her right thigh."
Lying on floor 'surrounded by inhalers'
Within minutes of calling 999, a solo vehicle arrived at the scene and medical technician, Stephen Hale, single-handedly gave Alice life support after she suffered a cardiac arrest.
Mr Hale told the inquest: "I remember finding Alice lying between parked cars surrounded by inhalers, I can't remember how many but certainly more than one.
"Her boyfriend said he used an epipen and she had a reaction after they ate at Wagamama.
"Within one minute of me arriving she went into cardiac arrest and I gave basic life support with decompressions and mask and air."
When probed by Alice's family's lawyer, Charlotte Gillmartin, over why he chose not to give Alice adrenaline straight away, he responded: "I did consider giving it to her but I would have had to go into my bag, open up the packet, drawn it up and I had to give her life support.
"I don't know how long drawing up adrenaline would have taken. She unfortunately went into cardiac arrest very quickly. I didn't have the option to do what I wanted to."
Mr Hale's response was supported in a written statement by Kirsty Smith, a London Ambulance Service (LAS) clinical advisor who stated he responded correctly and to the appropriate guidelines.
The inquest also heard how two paramedics rushed up the car park stairs with equipment because the ambulance struggled to drive into the building, due to height restrictions, and there was around a 10 minute delay in transporting Alice into the ambulance due to this.
Wagamama staff followed protocol
Following the incident, Detective Sergeant John Hine visited Wagamama in Uxbridge high street to obtain CCTV footage and question members of staff.
Giving evidence, he said: "I attended the restaurant. The purpose was to secure CCTV and speak to the waitress, manager and chef.
"They confirmed that the couple came in and ordered, requesting no-nut dishes. They explained to me that Miss Brooks had mentioned the nut allergy and the order was supervised by the manager.
"Wagamama has a protocol when serving people with allergies and they presented to me as very competent and they certainly considered people coming in with allergies."
Statements provided by the restaurant's manager, waitress and senior sous chef supported the view that a rigorous protocol was carried out on the day Alice and her boyfriend ordered their meals.
"It's policy that the manager must take the order if there is allergies," the waitress stated.
Meanwhile the manager confirmed she went through the allergy chart with Alice before she ordered the meal - ginger chicken noodles with tofu - and highlighted the allergy to the chef, who stated he cleaned the hob and kitchen utensils before cooking the nut-free dish.
Brain injury caused by suspected allergic reaction
The specific medical state which led to Alice's collapse in the shopping centre car park that autumn afternoon remains disputed between an asthma attack, anaphylaxis or bronchospasm - which is also triggered by an allergy, it remains suspected that it was directly caused by an allergic reaction.
While first responders were called to a suspected anaphylactic shock, Doctor Sergei Vaganov of Hillingdon Hospital told the court he believed that Alice suffered a bronchospasm.
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This opinion was supported by Doctor Andrew Jones from St Thomas' Hospital which was where Alice was transferred to and spent her remaining days.
In a written statement read in court, he described that Alice suffered a "catastrophic brain injury" and had a "complete absence of brain function".
He added his opinion was that the teenager suffered a "severe bronchospasm in the context of an allergic reaction".
Alice's family decided to relieve her from life support in the early hours of November 29.
The inquest continues.
