A DOCTOR has recalled rushing to a new mum's bedside shortly before she collapsed and later died.

Emma Torbe was giving evidence on day four of the inquest into the death of Amy Kimmance at the Royal County Hampshire Hospital on December 23, 2007.

Dr Torbe said she had become alerted to the seriousness of Mrs Kimmance's condition when she checked her blood test results, which showed she had a group A streptococcal infection.

Daily Echo: Click below to see a video of today's headlines in sixty seconds

Dr Torbe said: "When I saw the results I got up from the desk and ran to the post-natal ward."

Mrs Kimmance, 39, had returned to the hospital on December 22 - a day after giving birth - complaining of abdominal pain.

Dr Torbe said the new mum had declined significantly over just two hours on December 22.

She said: "She was significantly different. She was cold, she had purple coloured skin and she seemed to be in an awful lot more pain than when I had seen her before. She looked very, very unwell."

The inquest continues.