A TEENAGE girl died only days after she gave birth to her daughter.

Katie Morrison, 17, suffered a brain aneurysm as she gave birth to her daughter on September 16. Faye was successfully delivered after a 26-hour labour, but Katie collapsed and there was nothing that could be done for her.

The tragedy happened at the University Hospital of North Durham after Katie, who would have turned 18 today, had an apparently normal pregnancy.

Her mother, Catherine Thompson, 42, was with her when she went into the maternity unit. From her home in Deanery View, Lanchester, near Consett, County Dur-ham, she said: "Katie was in labour for 26 hours, but she was fine. It was in the last hour when she was actually giving birth that she took a fit and then I was just taken out of the room and I heard Katie crying.

"Then I saw the baby; they brought the baby to me and then I was told I should go home and get some rest.

"When I got home, they phoned me and the caller said Katie had had another fit, and when I went back to see her, they had taken her down to give her a brain scan.

"That was when they found out she had a brain aneurysm."

Katie was transferred to Newcastle General Hospital but, four days later, Catherine took the heartbreaking decision that her ventilator should be turned off when she was told nothing could be done for her.

Mrs Thompson said: "I am planning to bring up Faye, and I have got things I am going to tell her about her mum."

Katie had achieved nine GCSEs and planned to go to college to study pharmacy.