AN INQUEST into a York man’s death following a fit in supported living accommodation has heard a suggestion that an epilepsy sensor on his bed had been turned off.

Danny Tozer, 36, an autistic man with a severe learning disability, had a cardiac arrest after suffering the seizure in his bedroom while the door was shut at the Mencap charity’s house in Bishopthorpe in September 2015. He died the following day at York Hospital.

The inquest heard earlier this week that the sensor - intended to alert support workers if he had a seizure - failed to go off.

But the hearing was told yesterday that a York council safeguarding log indicated that police believed the sensor had been previously switched off while Danny was having ‘private time’ in his room.

However, the officer assigned to look into Danny’s death, Detective Sergeant Colin Park, said he had seen nothing that indicated the sensor was turned off. He said he didn’t know if this had happened and he did not recall any discussion of the sensor with a member of council staff.

He added that because the death was due to natural causes, there had been nothing more for him to do in investigating the death. Council staff will give evidence next week.

The accommodation’s service manager, Rachel Drammeh, said there hadn’t been concerns about Danny being in his room by himself during private time because he had the sensor.

Asked whether the sensor was ever switched off, she said: “Not to my knowledge.”

She said that afterwards, she had simulated a seizure on his bed by patting it and she could hear the alarm go off in the kitchen.

She said the sensor mat had been replaced in August and no concerns had been expressed to her that it was malfunctioning between then and his death.

She added that staff had had a ‘fondness for Danny’ and had been left ‘extremely distraught and very upset’ by what had happened.

The inquest continues on Monday.