Newlywed killed after fish dinner caused heart attack

NEWLYWED Christine Fensome was having the time of her life on her honeymoon, until she ate a deadly meal for dinner.

A NEWLYWED bride died on her honeymoon from a heart attack believed to have been caused by eating fish.

Christine Fensome, 54, was on a dream trip to Mexico with her husband Andy Bennetts, 58, when she became ill during the night on September 27 — just 10 days after her wedding, reports The Sun. Her children have been told the evening before she died Chris ate fish, thought to have contained high levels of mercury, which may have led to her organs shutting down. It is the second tragedy to hit the British family after they lost their dad Craig in 2004, who was killed in a hit-and-run at the age of 41. Her three children Brad, 33, Richard, 30 and Hayley, 29, say their mother struggled to get over the loss until meeting Andy seven years ago. They say Andy taught her to “love again” and the pair tied the knot on September 17 before jetting off on their honeymoon. Her brother James Bowyer, 49, said the family had been told her fatal sudden illness had been caused by eating a grouper fish contaminated with a toxin from a plankton that is found on coral, algae and seaweed. He said: “If anything can come from my sister’s death it is raising awareness about eating fish abroad. Knowledge appears to be quite limited about ciguatera food poisoning but it can be a hidden killer. “Due to global warming the toxin is becoming more prevalent and is found on algae on coral reefs in certain parts of the world — including the Gulf of Mexico. “The algae gets eaten by smaller fish and those fish get eaten by larger fish like groupers and barracudas. “There are no known tests to detect it and there is no effective treatment for it. So there was nothing Christine could have really done. “Restaurants over there tend to serve smaller fish as that means smaller the amount of potential toxins. “Ciguatera poisonings are quite common but deaths are extremely rare. It can cause shooting pains in the chest and in my sister’s case it caused her to have a heart attack.” Daughter Hayley said: “Everyone says to me ‘stay focused, stay strong, keep going for your mum and dad’. “But it is hard. I used to cry to mum that my dad would not be able to walk me down the aisle and she would tell me that she would be there to walk me down the aisle. But now I haven’t got anyone. “She would talk to anyone. People met her once and fell in love with her. She would do anything for any of us. “She lived her life for us. She tried so hard to be both mum and dad. We can’t really grieve our mum as we don’t know how [she died] or why.” Christine, from Burghill, Herefordshire in the UK, was described as being a “fit and active” regular gym-goer who doted on her five grandchildren. Hayley said when their father died Christine had struggled to come to terms with the shock and became a recluse. She added: “Our mum didn’t come out of the house for five years. She couldn’t get going. “But she found her feet again slowly and found happiness at the end. “She just looked beautiful [on her wedding day]. It was a lovely day and the sun was shining.” Son Richard said: “The fact she went from happy to dark times and finally got happiness again and then this. “It is too much to take in. It is a major shock. Mum stuck us all together. She was the glue and now she has gone.” This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.