Hospital 'missed' Butlins woman's fatal illness

A WOMAN employee who died at the Butlins holiday centre, in Minehead, is thought to have contracted a fatal illness which went unnoticed by hospital doctors.
Colleagues of Alexandrea Toth, a 22-year-old Hungarian, found her dead in her bed at the holiday centre last week.
After complaining of feeling unwell the previous day, she went to hospital for checks but was sent back again because she started to feel better.
However, she died in her sleep during the night.
She is believed to have died from a bacterial infection known as group a streptococcus (GAS), which can be linked to meningitis.
It is a bacteria which many people carry in the throat and on their skin, and it can survive long enough to be passed to other people by sneezing, kissing, and skin contact.
Generally, it proves harmless, although in rare cases it causes serious illness and death if it reaches the bloodstream, muscle tissue, or lungs.
Symptoms include fever, aching muscles, localised tenderness of muscles, and redness or inflammation around wounds or open skin.
Medical advice for anybody suffering from such symptoms is to immediately contact their GP.
Other staff at Butlins were offered antibiotics as a precaution following Miss Toth’s death.
However, the Dorset and Somerset Health Protection Unit said staff and visitors at Butlins were not in any danger.
The unit’s director, Dr Sue Bennett, said it was a rare illness with as few as 15 cases a year in Somerset.
She thought it was unlikely to have spread to any friends or colleagues of Miss Toth.
Dr Bennett said: “We have informed the management of Butlins that this is an isolated event and represents no risks to the health of either staff or other guests.”
A spokesman for Butlins said it was a ‘rare and unforeseen tragedy’.
He said Miss Toth was well-liked by staff and her death had upset everybody at the centre.
“Alexandrea was a popular young lady with all members of staff and will be sadly missed,” he said. “We offer our condolences to her family.”

Dulverton tenant hailed as hero for fatal blaze rescue attempt

A MAN who died in a fire which ripped through a block of four flats in Dulverton in the early hours of Tuesday has been named locally as Bob Short, who was in his 50s.
Mr Short lived in an upstairs flat in Herbert House, Dulverton, and was found dead inside it by firefighters who tackled the blaze.
Herbert House, on the corner of Amory Road and Barns Close West, provides temporary sheltered accommodation for homeless people and those with drugs and/or alcohol dependency.
It is run by Worcester-based Sanctuary Housing Association, which manages more than 70,000 properties across England and Scotland.
Mr Short had today still not been formally identified due to difficulty in locating his next of kin.
Fire service and police forensic investigators were continuing to examine the scene to try to work out what caused the fire.
Meanwhile, a second Herbert House tenant, Les Dale, aged 53, has been hailed as a hero for helping to rescue a woman and her dog, Shadow, from a ground floor flat, and for trying to save Mr Short.
Mr Dale saw flames coming through the ceiling of his downstairs flat shortly before 3 am and he rushed to a nearby relative’s house to call for the fire brigade before going back to help the woman.
A fourth occupant, a man in another upstairs flat, was rescued by Dulverton firefighters.
More than 30 firefighters were called to the incident from Dulverton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton, Tiverton, Taunton, and Bridgwater.
A spokewoman for Sanctuary Housing said alternative accommodation would be found for residents while Herbert House was repaired.

Man dies in Dulverton flats blaze

A MAN in his 50s has died in a ferocious fire which ripped through a block of flats in Dulverton during the night.
Fire and rescue crews found the man in a top floor flat at Herbert House, on the corner of Amory Road and Barns Close West after being alerted shortly before 3 am today (Tuesday, February 19).
Dulverton firefighters, who were first on the scene, managed to save a second man who was trapped in another top floor flat.
Two other people, a man and a woman with a 12-year-old dog named Shadow, were able to escape by themselves from ground floor flats.
Up to 35 fire and rescue personnel were involved in battling the blaze at its height, with crews attending from Dulverton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton, and Tiverton, together with two hydraulic platforms from Taunton and Bridgwater, a command support unit from Wiveliscombe, and an incident support unit from Taunton.
The fire quickly took hold of the 40 feet by 65 feet building and was so severe that firemen had to strip the roof of tiles in order to use a hose reel jet to reach hotspots inside.

Herbert House was converted from a former shop premises about 11 years ago, and was named after Auberon Herbert, who had owned the Pixton estate on which the housing estate was built.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue group manager Paul Godwin confirmed ‘one person has died’ in what he described as ‘a severe fire’.
Fire investigations officers were working with police forensic teams and scenes of crime officers who began examining the site when it became daylight.
A post mortem is due to be held to determine a cause of death of the man who died, whose name has not yet been released.

A39 lorry driver dies in crash with tree

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to help trace a silver coloured 'people carrier' following a fatal road traffic accident which has closed the A39 near Kilve.
Shortly after 9.35am today, Friday, January 25, a green colour box lorry was involved in a collision with a tree between Kilve and Williton.
The male driver of the lorry suffered life threatening injuries and was given basic life support treatment by a police officer before paramedics arrived and took over.
The Devon Air Ambulance then flew the man to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, in Exeter, applying advanced life support techniques to the victim throughout the flight.
However, the man was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at about 11.15 am.
South Western Ambulance Trust spokeswoman Melodie Juste told The Post: "When our paramedics arrived at the scene they believed the patient was in cardiac arrest and they worked extremely hard and did everything they could to save him, all the way to hospital."
Witnesses reported that soon after the crash, they saw a silver ‘people carrier’ vehicle driving away.
Police do not know if the car was involved in any way in the collision or whether the occupants may have witnessed the incident and they need to trace the car as soon as possible.
Anybody with any information is asked to contact police on 0845 4567000.
The A39 was expected to remain closed until late in the evening.

Appeal for witnesses to death of man walking on A39

WITNESSES are being sought to an accident in which a young man was killed when he was hit by a car as he walked along the A39 early on the morning of Saturday, November 10.
The man was named by police as Ashley Richard Taylor, aged 21, of Coultings, Fiddington.
He died as a result of his injuries shortly after he was hit by a Peugeot 307 car at about 6 am.
Mr Taylor was walking along an unlit area of Quantock Road, near Wembdon, on his way out of Bridgwater toward Cannington when the accident happened.
Police would like to speak to anybody who may have witnessed the collision or may have seen Mr Taylor walking on the road a short time before.
Anybody who can help is asked to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 0845 4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Alternatively, the secure Crimestoppers internet contact form can be used by logging on to https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx
Callers do not have to give their name, but they could receive a reward for helping the police.