A WOMAN left paralysed after a row over a spilled drink at a pub has taken a turn for the worse, her father said today.

Claire Hilton, 28, broke her back when she fell in an unprovoked attack yards from her home in West Boldon, South Tyneside, on Friday night.

She was being treated for her spinal injuries at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, and was taken into intensive care yesterday after she started coughing.

A hospital spokeswoman said Ms Hilton's condition was "stable".

The telesales adviser has undergone a number of operations and is believed to be unlikely to be able to walk again.

Her father, Paddy Hilton, said the family did not know why her condition had suddenly worsened.

He said: "She seemed to be having a good day but then they tried to give her a drink and she ended up on the life support machine.

"When I saw her she said something was wrong with her lung and then she was coughing and spluttering. She tried to have a drink and it all went wrong from there."

She was attacked after her cousin accidentally spilled a drink at the Wheatsheaf pub.

Ms Hilton, who has an 11-year-old son, was punched to the ground and kicked in the stomach.

She was outside having a cigarette when the drink was spilled inside the pub and she left with her cousin as an argument developed.

The cousin hid in bushes and dialled 999 as Ms Hilton was punched.

A man and two women have all appeared in court in connection with the incident.

They have been bailed until a later date.