A student from East Sussex has died after suffering a suspected allergic reaction to some chicken he ate while celebrating his 18th birthday.
Owen Carey, from Crowborough, was with his girlfriend on Saturday when he suddenly collapsed by the London Eye.
He had apparently suffered an anaphylactic shock from what he had believed to be plain grilled chicken. He suffered allergies to peanuts, some spices and wheat.
Owen was given first aid by staff from the London Eye, as well as passers-by, before being rushed to St Thomas's Hospital.
The schoolboy of The Skinner's School in Tunbridge Wells was pronounced dead only 45 minutes later at 4pm.
His father, Paul, paid tribute to the popular student, whose hobbies included playing the guitar, skiing and rock climbing.
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He was due to be starting a Computer Science course at Swansea University in September.
Paul Carey said: "Owen was so full of life and fun. He is going to be sorely missed by so many people. The whole family are completely overwhelmed.
"He was very careful about what he ate. He had been well trained by his mother and by myself on restricting his diet.
"He ate chicken in a restaurant - I'm not sure which one. He didn't like the taste of it so he stopped eating it. The reaction built up over the next few hours."
According the London Evening Standard, Owen usually carried an EpiPen as a precaution but had forgotten it on the trip. He had never suffered such a severe reaction before.
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His dad spoke of how much something can change in a week. He mentioned how last week he said goodbye as he left Plymouth to go back home to Sussex, but now he must prepare to 'say goodbye to him forever'.
"He died with his girlfriend beside him. Paramedics and other tried to help, but it was all in vain," he said.
Owen had gone to visit his dad in the week before at his new home in Cornwall.
In a Facebook post, Paul wrote: "I felt so full of life then, but just now, I really, really do feel so empty, and it is going to be a struggle in these next few days, weeks and months, to come to terms with what has happened."
He urged others to think of how a piece of plain chicken, cooked the wrong way, has 'robbed' him of his son.
Paul hopes, by sharing this story, that it can raise awareness to others, and of charities such as anaphylaxis.org.uk, so that similar incidents don't occur in the future.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS