A man who sold poisonous ‘diet pills’ online, which led to the death of a 21-year-old bulimic, was convicted of manslaughter in a landmark case.

Bernard Rebelo, 30, of Gosport, Hampshire, was found guilty after it emerged that he had sold capsules laced with 2.4 dinitrophenol (DNP) – a dangerous pesticide.

He was marketing the pills as ‘fat burners’ and ‘slimming aids’ on various websites and operated out of a workshop in Herga Court, Sudbury Hill, Harrow.

Eloise Parry, from Shrewsbury, died in hospital on 12 April 2015 after taking just eight of Rebelo’s capsules.

The case was led by Harrow Council, as it has responsibility over matters relating to food safety, including the illegal consumption of DNP.

Cllr Graham Henson, leader of the council, said: “We brought this case because we were the last chance for justice for the family of a vulnerable young woman, who was poisoned by the vile toxins that this criminal knowingly peddled.

“Harrow Council had the best chance in years to bring those responsible to justice and help prevent the same fate befalling another innocent victim in the future. We simply had to take that chance.”

The manslaughter conviction is the first-ever for someone selling DNP for human consumption.

According to Simon Thomas, director of the national poisons information service at Public Health England, between 15 and 17 per cent of those referred for DNP ingestion will die.

Despite being aware of Ms Parry’s death, Rebelo continued to sell products containing DNP to ‘help’ people with weight loss, body building or body sculpting.

Following a council raid on his workshop, there was a joint investigation between Harrow and Ealing Councils and the Metropolitan Police.

They found that Rebelo had enough DNP to potentially manufacture up to 200,000 deadly tablets.

Cllr Henson added: “We know that other people have died from taking this extremely toxic chemical for weight loss, not just Eloise Parry.

“I hope this conviction will stop anyone else from selling DNP in this way. Rebelo thought he could hide online; hide from justice behind obscure laws.

“But he was wrong – we found him, we brought him here and now we’ve convicted him.

“And I hope we have raised awareness of the dangers of DNP, so people stop taking it.

“It is not something that can make you lose weight. It is a powerful poison, a pesticide that kills at very low doses. Anyone who tells you otherwise, like Rebelo, is lying to you.”