DOCTORS fought a race against time to save twins when their mother collapsed and died, an inquest heard.

Avril Billington, 37, of Derby Drive, Consett, County Durham, collapsed in the University Hospital of North Durham as she was about to be induced to give birth.

An inquest in Durham heard how the amniotic fluid surrounding the babies had entered her bloodstream.

It is an extremely rare complication and Durham coroner Andrew Tweddle said there were only six other recorded cases worldwide.

The twins, Jack and Andrew, were born by Caesarean section, but their mother died on January 7 last year.

Pathologist Dr Paul Barrett said the cause of death was an amniotic fluid emboli.

He told the inquest how he was initially baffled because the condition was so rare.

With the help of other pathologists he was able to determine how Mrs Billington died.

The fluid in her system created an irregular heartbeat, which led to her death.

Mr Tweddle recorded a verdict of natural causes.

He said: "There was nothing untoward. It was an exceptionally rare, unusual and tragic set of circumstances."

Mrs Billington had only been married to her husband Edwin, 50, for seven months following their two-year courtship.

The couple got together after they were introduced by a friend and married in Stanley, County Durham, in the summer of 2002.

Now, Mr Billington is raising the twins as well as three children that his late wife had with a former husband.

Yesterday, Mr Billington said: "Avril was lovely. You could not have asked to meet a nicer person.

"There was no sign that anything was wrong whatsoever. They had been checking on her every week.

"There was nothing wrong with her blood pressure, so it came as a complete shock.It has been very, very traumatic."

Mr Billington has given up working on market stalls to look after the older children, aged 17, 14 and 11, as well as the twins, now 17 months old.

He said: "It has been a very sad time for everyone, especially the other children because they lost their dad not long before.

"It has been hard, but we have got to keep going. Looking after the twins keeps our minds on things."