A MALPAS man died after he was stung on the head by an insect.

Julian Clive Dimelow, suffered a catastrophic response to the sting at the family farm, on Wrexham Road, Malpas, on July 19 last year.

The 40-year-old’s face swelled up and he suffered a heart attack which starved his brain of oxygen, a Wrexham inquest heard on Thursday.

Julian’s mother Susan Dimelow, aged 72, told the Chronicle he had come up to visit her and his sister Lorna that weekend from his home in Coventry where he lived with his wife Norida. He also chose that weekend so he could go to the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.

“He loved vintage tractors and agricultural machinery,” said Mrs Dimelow.

Julian had been interested in agricultural machinery since childhood when he would fix tractors on the family farm. He had gone to Reaseheath and the Harper Adams college before embarking on a career with ACGO formerly Massey Ferguson. On the day he was stung he was preparing to travel back to Coventry, and had gone out to his car on the drive.

Mrs Dimelow said: “He came back in and said he had been stung on his head.

“We sprayed it with antihistamine spray, but then he said he didn’t feel right.”

“He just sat down and took his glasses off and his head rolled back and he was unconscious. It was just so quick.”

Mrs Dimelow said they called an ambulance and her daughter Lorna started doing CPR.

She said it took 40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Julian died nearly a month later – he never regained consciousness.

Mrs Dimelow said Julian had been stung by bees before and had never had a reaction.

“He was always out and about doing things. He loved fishing and would often be at our pond seeing what he could catch.”

Mrs Dimelow said she is still ‘very shocked’ that this tragedy could have happened to her son.

She said Julian would travel all over the world with work, France, Norway, Brazil, America and spent a lot of time in Uzbekistan where his wife is from.

“That is what makes it so hard, if he had been bitten by a scorpion or a snake in a foreign country I could have accepted it more, but to be stung by a bee or wasp at home is just so hard to take,” added Mrs Dimelow.

She said he had always been adventurous and that was why a job which included travelling suited him.

“While he was abroad we would fax each other,” added Mrs Dimelow. “That way I always knew he would get my message within minutes. He knew it would be me when I would accidently send him a blank page, he then would give me a call. I still have the fax machine hooked up to the phone.

“He was such a kind lad, he was always worried about me. He would come and fix things on the farm and check I was okay.

“He was kind in everything he did, all the tributes at the funeral kept saying what a lovely man he was.”

Coroner of North East Wales John Hughes said at the inquest: “This is an extremely rare condition, but it is not unknown to medicine.

“The question of treatment for this condition is very difficult.

“Reactions are very idiosyncratic. A sting may produce no reaction on one day, but on another it may cause a severe reaction.”

He recorded a verdict of natural causes.