Rare heart disorder claimed boy's life

James died at the Outdoor Trust Centre in Belford

A sports-mad Wearside youngster died from a rare heart abnormality during an adventure trip with school friends, an inquest heard.

James Todd, 12, was found slumped on his dormitory bunk at an outdoor activities centre in Northumberland in July.

James, a pupil of the Biddick School Sports College in Washington, near Sunderland, is believed to have suffered from a condition which disturbs the normal rhythm of the heart.

The coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes after hearing the rare defect, cardiac dysrhythmia, is almost impossible to detect.

Dizzy spell

The inquest heard how James, a keen and talented all-round sportsman, collapsed and died after a day's canoeing at the Outdoor Trust Centre in Belford.

He was with 28 pupils from his school.

Pathologist Dr James Sunter told the inquest in Ashington that a dizzy spell which James suffered two weeks before his death could have been caused by the heart problem.

But said the condition could strike "right out of the blue".

James, of Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, failed to come down for dinner after the day's activities and a fellow pupil sent by a member of the school staff found him lying on his bunk at about 1800 BST.

Dr Sunter said the "very sudden and unexpected" death suggested cardiac dysrhythmia.