A mother believes her son's death could have been prevented with proper mental health care during his battle with an eating disorder.

Steven Brazier, from Minster, would binge eat and purge up to 25 times a day, which saw his weight plummet from 19 stone to just eight in two years.

The 19-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest after years of struggling to get the help he needed from Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT).

His mum Melanie Brazier launched legal proceedings against the trust and is calling for an urgent shake-up to prevent other families experiencing the same tragedy.

This week, KMPT admitted Steven did not receive the appropriate treatment, but not if this contributed to his death.

Mrs Brazier says her son was so desperately ill – at one point he diced with death by standing in the middle of a dual carriageway – he should not have been allowed to make his own decisions but despite her pleas for him to be sectioned, she says health workers listened to him and his protestations he was fine.

She found him dead in bed on February 7, 2014.

Mrs Brazier, of Norwood Rise, said: “I thought a mental health section was there to protect a patient because they can’t make a decision for themselves.

“They had all the evidence but they couldn’t be bothered.

“It was hell for us. God knows what it was like for Steven.”

Steven was assessed by the trust’s eating disorders unit in December 2011 but was not admitted as an inpatient until the following April.

He was sectioned but this was lifted after just one month against his mother’s wishes having seen him miss appointments and discharge himself.

Steven was finally detained in June 2012 and later transferred to Hayes Grove Priory hospital, Bromley, with failing kidneys.

Mrs Brazier said between then and Christmas 2013, she made repeated requests for him to be sectioned again.

She said: “He was very thin and said he wanted to die.

“I said to the mental health people I wanted to make a complaint and they said they would get an appointment for him to be reassessed.”

"I thought a mental health section was there to protect a patient because they can’t make a decision for themselves. It was hell for us. God knows what it was like for Steven" - Melanie Brazier

It arrived three days after his death.

Steven’s family noticed the alarming rate he was losing weight when he took on a new diet plan in 2011.

His mum said: “Steven was never a skinny child and when he was 15 he broke his leg riding a motorbike and then his weight went up to 19-and-a-half stone.

“I was diagnosed with diabetes and told I had to change my diet and get healthier and Steven said he would do it too.

“He lost a lot of weight and I couldn’t believe how lovely he looked.”

Steven, who also suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome and had been home-schooled, became obsessed with his weight and bought weights and a treadmill.

Mrs Brazier, who works as a doctor’s receptionist, found out her son was making himself sick and even swallowed a toothbrush while struggling with bulimia.

She said: “He would say he’d had KFC or McDonald’s or eaten at a friend’s house. He continued to lose weight and I became quite concerned.”

She added: “I would find bowls of sick that he would hide in the cupboards. He was desperately mentally ill.”

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) has admitted liability for failing to provide proper treatment prior to his death.

No admissions have been made about if this contributed to his death.

A spokesman for KMPT said: “The tragic death of Steven Brazier was a terrible loss of life and our thoughts remain with his family.

“Communications between those services providing care for Mr Brazier was not adequate. As a trust we have put measures in place to help improve communications channels between our services and the partners we work with.

“Eating disorders, is a specialist and complex area and patients should expect a standard of service which was not provided on this occasion. We have improved the quality of care and our communication as a result of learning from the failings in Steven’s case and we are committed to ensuring that this continues.”

Both sides are now working to agree a settlement.