A SURGEON told a court that the injuries suffered by a woman who was found with a shampoo bottle inside her were caused by “considerable force”.

Consultant surgeon Sophie Pilkington, who operated on Majella Lynch, explained that the injuries the 51-year-old suffered were unlike any she had seen before in the area where they were found.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Miss Pilkington had met Ms Lynch prior to surgery and how the patient, who was “very unwell”, refused to answer any questions about how the bottle came to be inside her.

The jury was told that Ms Lynch underwent emergency surgery at Southampton General Hospital, which lasted more than two hours, to remove the bottle and repair the damage after a scan revealed the foreign body inside.

When asked about the injuries, Miss Pilkington said: “I have never seen a case before were there’s been a...tear like this.”

She added that she washed out the abdomen cavity in a bid to reduce any infection already there, but sadly Ms Lynch died 24 hours later from “massive infection” caused by the injuries she had suffered.

Miss Pilkington said it was difficult to judge when the injuries were caused but estimated it was “likely” to have happened in the 12 hours before her admission to hospital at midday on April 18.

Earlier in the day jurors were taken on a site visit to the St Mary’s Road flat where Ms Lynch had lived, where they viewed the layout of the basement flat, the back garden and where the CCTV cameras are outside.

Daniel McBride is charged with the murder of Ms Lynch.

The 43-year-old, of St Deny’s Road, Southampton, denies the charge.

Proceeding.