East Sussex man dies after taking on TikTok vodka challenge

The inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (October 27) heard that Oliver Cleary, a games designer living at Glebe Farm in Church Road, died at Mountjoy in Battle on December 11 2021.

The inquest heard he was drinking with friends at his girlfriend Rachel Wilcox’s house. She went to bed and left him downstairs ‘very drunk’, according to a statement from Ms Wilcox. The next morning she found him and police and paramedics attended. Dr Syed Rohaan Ahsan Bukhari, a specialist doctor, told the inquest that when Mr Cleary was at Ms Wilcox’s house he had attempted a TikTok challenge of drinking a whole bottle of vodka and choked on his vomit. Mr Cleary’s mother Denise Cleary said: “These challenges aren’t a good thing, it’s a dangerous activity.”

Toxicology reports found Mr Cleary had ‘severe alcohol intoxication’ and a mixture of drugs in his system. East Sussex coroner Alan Craze said: “Blood alcohol levels alone were sufficient to kill him, add the drugs and they won’t have helped.”

A GP report from Dr Iche Mangiri revealed Mr Cleary had a history of drug-induced psychosis and dyspraxia, as well as anxiety problems which meant he had been referred to a mental health team.

Dr Bukhari said he saw Mr Cleary on two occasions. At a June appointment Mr Cleary was ‘feeling good’ and in a ‘happy relationship’. There was some anxiety over returning to university later that year, but he still had a desire to move out of his parent’s house. However, in October he had ‘become erratic’ and made a suicide attempt according to Dr Bukhari. He was also on prescription medication and had left university due to stress. He agreed to be referred to an ADHD and autism assessment, and had been given leaflets for self referral to third party services for his mental health. He was lined up to have an appointment with a psychologist on December 16, the inquest heard.

Mr Craze ruled Mr Cleary’s death was alcohol and drug related.