A brilliant student's death could have been caused after drinking several cans of Red Bull on a night out in Hull, an inquest heard today.

Chloe Leach, 21 – a student at the University of Lincoln's Hull campus – collapsed at The Sugar Mill nightclub in Hull city centre in the early hours of September 30.

She later died in hospital.

Epileptic Miss Leach had drunk at least four cans of Red Bull, which is high in caffeine, on the night she died.

Dr Ian Scott, a consultant neuro-pathologist, admitted he was baffled by her death after ruling out an epileptic seizure.

Instead, Dr Scott said he believed the "most likely" cause of death was QT Syndrome, a disorder affecting the heart's electric pulse.

The inquest heard Miss Leach's mother Tina had a sudden heart attack, which resulted in the family being tested for heart defects.

A test taken five years before Miss Leach's death showed her heart was at the "upper limit of normal".

Dr Scott said: "The level may have risen in those five years. Caffeine from Red Bull may have caused the level to go over the normal level, inducing a cardiac arrhythmia."

An arrhythmia is a medical term used to describe when the heart goes out of rhythm.

A can of cola contains 35mg of caffeine compared to 80mg found in a can of Red Bull, the inquest was told.

Samples taken from Miss Leach – who was tipped for a first class degree in social work – showed an alcohol level of 153mg per 100ml of blood. The legal drink drive limit is 80mg.

Initially, it was feared Miss Leach may have had her drink spiked. No traces of drugs, including GHB, the most common drink-spike substance, was found.

The inquest was expected to continue this afternoon.