A FORMER bodybuilder left paralysed following a motorbike accident died after an operation to help him walk again went horribly wrong, an inquest has heard.

Ricky Chick, from Forestdale, was flown to Ecuador to undergo a $16,000 (about £10,000) stem cell procedure at the Hospital Clinica San Francisco.

But the 27-year-old, of Silverwood Close, suffered complications and died just five days after the operation in South America.

His mother was then told not to worry about the extra $10,000 she owed, adding: "Just don't say anything when you get home and we'll call it quits."

On Tuesday, an inquest at Croydon Coroner's Court recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

Speaking afterwards, his mother Christine Chick said: "To anybody considering this type of treatment I would say it's not safe and don't do it.

"They're like lambs to the slaughter with a process like that.

"We ended up going to a different hospital in Ecuador and we were a bit confused about that.

"We were shown to a room and I had a bed at the side of Ricky's.

"Not one of the nurses spoke English. We had an interpreter but she was only there for certain times of the day."

Mr Chick was paralysed from the chest down following a motorbike accident in South Croydon in June 2004.

His operation took place on August 5, 2009 but when he awoke he complained of pain in his head.

He chillingly warned: "I think this headache is going to kill me, Mum."

Mr Chick suffered swelling to his brain understood to have been caused by Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD), a condition that can occur in anyone who has a serious spinal cord injury, causing blood pressure to rise to potentially dangerous levels.

After her son died on August 10, 2009, Mrs Chick says his body was taken away on a "pickup truck" to the mortuary and claims experts at the hospital had no idea about AD.

After returning home, Mrs Chick wanted to see if the hospital would warn future patients about the dangers and contacted them as an interested party.

But there was no mention of her son's death in a reply which stated the procedure was safe.

Mrs Chick added: "After Ricky's motorbike accident he was suicidal.

"It took a lot of counselling to make him see there was still life.

"He loved life and lived life to the full, but there was always this dream that stem cell treatment would help him walk again."

Mrs Chick says her son's death has left a huge void in the family.

Paying tribute to the former bodybuilder – who attended Riddlesdown High School in Purley, John Ruskin College in Selsdon and Coulsdon College – Mrs Chick said: "He had a great sense of humour and was very loving.

"He would always look at everybody's problems and give his best advice – he was their inspiration.

"It is absolutely horrific what happened."