Met apology for linking Ally Calvert's death to nitrous oxide Published duration 23 September 2015

image caption Alistair Calvert's family said they had suffered "significant distress" in the wake of his death

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the family of an 18-year-old for suggesting his death was connected with nitrous oxide and alcohol.

Alistair Calvert - also known as Ally - died on 25 July after suffering a cardiac arrest in Abbey Wood, south-east London.

The Met admitted its initial statement had "inferred" his death may have been linked to substances he had ingested.

A post-mortem examination concluded he had died of natural causes.

It is now known he suffered from an undiagnosed significantly enlarged heart which caused sudden arrhythmia death syndrome.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe met the teenager's family last week to apologise personally for the "upset caused by the statements we made about Alistair's death".

In a statement, the Calvert family said any inference that his death had been linked to nitrous oxide was "completely false".

The family said they had subsequently been "harassed" by the media, causing "significant distress".

Alistair's family has since set up a memorial and a campaign directed at raising funds for routine heart screening for young people.