A 21-year-old student “burned up from the inside” and died after taking a fatal number of diet pills bought online.

Eloise Aimee Parry, from Shrewsbury in Shropshire, died in hospital on 12 April after swallowing eight diet pills – six more than a lethal dose – known as 2,4-Dinitrophenol, or DNP.

The Glyndwr University student began feeling unwell at around midday, driving herself to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where staff performed a toxicity test – only then was the severity of her situation revealed.

Yesterday, Fiona Parry recounted doctors' “uphill battle” to try and save her daughter - known as Ella to friends and family - after she stopped breathing and her heart failed as her body’s metabolism went into overdrive.

“She had taken so much DNP that the consequences were inevitable. They never stood a chance of saving her. She burned and crashed.”

“She never intended to take her own life,” Mrs Parry said. “She just never really understood how dangerous the tablets that she took were. Most of us don’t believe that a slimming tablet could possibly kill us. DNP is not a miracle slimming pill. It is a deadly toxin.”

Ms Parry, a volunteer for West Mercia Women’s Aid and a Young Health Champion with the YMCA, is believed to have bought the pills online where they retail for between £70 to £100.

West Mercia Police are conducting a full investigation into the causes behind Ms Parry’s death, with a full coroner’s report expected to establish the exact cause of the young woman’s death.

Meanwhile, police have issued a stark warning to others about the dangers of buying pills online, urging people to be “incredibly careful when purchasing medicine or supplements over the internet. Substances from unregistered websites could put your health at risk as they could be extremely harmful, out-of-date or fake.”

Chief Inspector Jennifer Mattinson said in a statement that police were working to discover the origin of the pills and how they were advertised.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has advised the public against taking any tablets or powders containing DNP, stating: “it is an industrial chemic and not fit for human consumption.