Coventry University
A 20-year-old Coventry University student has been found dead in a halls of residence, becoming the eighth UK student to have died in less than a month.

West Midlands Police said the student was discovered at the Bishop Gate halls in the city centre last Friday, and detectives were treating the death as non-suspicious.

Paramedics added that upon their arrival at 7pm it 'immediately became apparent nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene'.

The man, who has not yet been named, is at least the eighth student to have died since Britain's universities returned last month following the coronavirus lockdown.

It comes after Manchester University student Finn Kitson, 19, was found dead in his halls on October 8 after suffering with 'severe anxiety', according to his family.

Coventry University is not thought to have put any student halls into lockdown, although its most recent data shows 57 students have tested positive for Covid-19.

The figures for the week ending October 13 included 28 students who had been on campus and 29 off campus.

Seven employees were also confirmed to have had the virus, including three who had been on campus and four who had not.

How at least eight students have died since UK universities returned last month
  • September 25: Police find body of University of Bath student Martin Bowers, 20, in the River Avon, after he went missing six days earlier in Bristol
  • September 30: Police find body of University of Bath student Alec Unsgaard who had been missing for 12 days after vanishing while out celebrating his 21st birthday
  • October 3: Jeni Larmour, 18, is found dead at the Richardson Road halls at Newcastle University after allegedly taking ketamine
  • October 4: A Northumbria University student aged 21, who has not been named, is taken ill at his halls in Newcastle after allegedly taking MDMA and later dies in hospital
  • October 4: A second Newcastle University student aged 18, who has not been named, is found dead at the Richardson Road halls after also allegedly taking ketamine
  • October 8: University of Manchester student Finn Kitson, 19, is found dead at the university's Fallowfield halls of residence
  • October 15: Nottingham Trent University student Hope Starsmore, 20, dies eight days after a car crash in Burgh Le Marsh, Lincolnshire
  • October 16: Coventry University student aged 20 is found dead in the Bishop Gate halls of residence
The university said positive test results for Covid-19 across its five UK campuses during the latest period account for 0.2 per cent of its student population of about 30,000.

Last month shocking footage showed hundreds of students at Coventry climbing on top of ping pong tables and raving at an accommodation block.

At least 200 students were thought to have crammed into a common room at Arundel House, close to the university's main campus, ignoring social distancing guidelines and 'rule of six' restrictions.

Some revellers could be heard screaming, while a group of male students clambered on top of a table as they sang along to thumping music.

Today, a Coventry University spokesman said: 'We are saddened by the death of one of our students. Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this awful time and we are offering all the support we can to the family.

'We have a full range of mental health support services available for students and colleagues affected by this tragic news. We ask that the family's privacy be respected.'

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We were called to reports of a medical emergency on Tower Street at 6.55pm on October 16, two ambulances attended the scene.

'On arrival we discovered one patient, a man. Sadly, it immediately became apparent nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene.'

Bishop Gate is a university-owned halls which opened in 2018 and provides 725 ensuites and studios in flats of nine and ten rooms, costing up to £199 per week.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: 'We were called to the student accommodation on October 16 where the body of a man in his 20s was found.

'His death is not being treated as suspicious and has been referred to the coroner.'

Among the students at other universities to have been found dead since they returned last month is University of Bath student Martin Bowers, 20, whose body was found in the River Avon on September 25 after he went missing six days earlier in Bristol.

On September 30, police also found the body of his fellow University of Bath student Alec Unsgaard who had been missing for 12 days after vanishing while out celebrating his 21st birthday, in a separate incident to that of Mr Bowers.

Then on October 3 and 4, there were three students who died in drugs-related deaths in Newcastle over one weekend, including Jeni Larmour, 18, who was found dead at the Richardson Road halls at Newcastle University after allegedly taking ketamine.

The next day a Northumbria University student aged 21, who was not named, was taken ill at his halls in Newcastle after allegedly taking MDMA and died in hospital.

That same day, a second Newcastle University student aged 18, also not named, was found dead at the Richardson Road halls after also allegedly taking ketamine.

Then on October 8, Manchester student Mr Kitson was found dead at the university's Fallowfield halls of residence.

Mr Kitson's father, Cambridge academic Michael Kitson, 61, later hit out at the 'little support' students have been receiving while locked down in their halls.

And last Thursday, Nottingham Trent University student Hope Starsmore, 20, died eight days after a car crash in the Lincolnshire town of Burgh Le Marsh.

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