the ultimate chilli contest?

[Ken Gargett]

Man dies after chilli-eating contest

Article from: NEWS.com.au

September 29, 2008 02:23pm

A FORKLIFT driver who dared his friend to a chilli-eating contest died hours later.

Andrew Lee, 33, used a bag of home-grown red chillis to make the roaring-hot sauce and then dared his girlfriend's brother, Michael Chadbourne, to eat a spoonful.

Mr Lee then ate a plateful, and had a heart attack shortly after, The Daily Mail reported.

"They had a contest over who could make the hottest chilli sauce," Mr Chadbourne's sister, Claire, said.

"Andrew had used chillies to make Thai dishes before but had never made anything this hot .

"My dad grew the chillies especially for Andrew. The contest was planned and he gave them to him."

Mr Lee, of Edlington, Doncaster, complained of itchy skin as he went to bed.

The next morning, his girlfriend Samantha Bailey, a mother of four, found him unconscious.

Paramedics later pronounced Mr Lee dead at the scene.

"He apparently got into bed at 2.30am and started scratching all over," Mrs Chadboure said.

"His girlfriend scratched his back until he fell asleep. She woke up and he was dead.

"'He was perfectly healthy and the post-mortem showed no heart problems."

Toxicology tests are under way to see whether Mr Lee had a fatal reaction to the sauce.