A fit and healthy 14-year-old rugby player died hours after taking an acne treatment which his mother claimed came with no safety leaflet, an inquest heard today.

Shaun Jones, described as an exceptionally popular student, saw his doctor about spots on his back and shoulders after learning that his friends had been given medication to deal with similar problems.

The 6ft schoolboy of Pontypridd, South Wales, was sold a drug called Sebomin after being told by the pharmacy that the medication his GP prescribed, Minocin, had gone out of stock.

Clare Jones, his mother who was with him at the time, said that she noticed there was no safety leaflet included in the box, but thought nothing of that at the time.

The inquest heard that Shaun took the tablets with a glass of water just before going to bed at 10.30pm on October 20 last year.

Little more than an hour later, he complained to his parents of shortness of breath and tightness in his chest.

When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital by ambulance. Despite treatment there, and at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, Shaun died at 10.40am on October 21 - just 12 hours after taking the treatment.

Doctors believe that colourings within the medication could have caused an allergic reaction which led to his death. Potential allergic respiratory tract and skin reactions are considered possible when using acne pills, but deaths are described as very rare.

Yet in a statement read to the court, Mrs Jones claimed today that the tablets came with no advisory leaflet warning of any risks and advise on dosage.

“My son was fit and healthy. He was 6ft tall and physically very fit,” Mrs Jones said. “He excelled at rugby and trained and played very hard. I’m mystified by his death as is my entire family.”

She said she had since conducted her own research into the medication, adding: “Had there been instructions in the box, and having read all the information on this drug since, I would have called 999 straightaway and certainly wouldn’t have given him the tablet before going to bed.”

Shaun was described by James Williams, his head teacher at Hawthorn High School, Pontypridd, as an “extremely popular student” who “excelled” in playing rugby for his school, village and district teams.

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