Man coughs up blood after being 'poisoned' by new sofa

Oct 6 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A HUDDERSFIELD man has described how toxic fumes from his new sofa left him coughing up blood.

The father-of-four developed breathing problems and a painful rash because of fumes released by sachets of anti-mould fungicide within the furniture.

The man, who does not want to be named, said: “It got to the stage where every time I laid down I felt I was choking to death. My throat was on fire and I felt constrained. I was constantly filling hankies with blood-stained mucous and my eyes became swollen.

“As the problem got worse I found it very difficult to talk or swallow. It was relentless and very depressing.”

The victim took delivery of a recliner and two settees from Land of Leather in January. But the sachets weren’t identified as the likely cause of his sickness for several months.

He said: “What made things worse was that I’d climb out of bed because my symptoms made it too uncomfortable to lie down and sleep. I’d go downstairs to rest on the recliner – effectively subjecting myself to another dose of the chemical that was causing the pain in the first place.

“It was an incredibly distressing period. It was a massive relief when the cause was finally identified and the furniture taken away.”