A RARE brain tumour caused a 12-year-old girl from the Isle of Wight to waste away until she died weighing only 3stone 9lb, an inquest heard.

Charlotte Collett was rushed to hospital on July 9 last year after her mother Katrina, 47, found her lying unconscious in her bedroom at their home in Well Road, East Cowes.

Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Charlotte, who was 4ft 7in, died at St Mary's Hospital, Newport.

The inquest heard that, when Charlotte was taken to hospital, her sister and her mother told paramedics she had been suffering from anorexia and had been bullied at school.

A police investigation was launched and Charlotte's mother was arrested in connection with her death but no charges were brought after medical reports showed she died as a result of a brain tumour.

How Charlotte could waste away to just 3 stone 9lb without the authorities being informed is the subject of an ongoing investigation. A spokesman for the Isle of Wight council said: "Charlotte and her family were not known to social services but that having been said, the council has taken part in a review of the case to see what lessons can be learned. The findings have not yet been made public.

"We would like to make as much of it public as possible, but there might be confidentiality issues."

Home Office pathologist Dr Allen Anscombe told the inquest in Newport that a post-mortem revealed that Charlotte was suffering from a malignant and incurable cerebellar medulloblastoma - a rare brain tumour.

He explained Charlotte died of pneumonia which had been brought about by the tumour. He added that weight loss and lack of appetite, as suffered by Charlotte, was a common symptom of malignant tumours.

He said: "She was suffering from pneumonia at the time of her death, which was probably the final straw for a thin and emaciated girl suffering from a brain tumour."

Consultant neurosurgeon Dr Owen Sparrow told the inquest that Charlotte had exhibited symptoms of a brain tumour, including double vision and weight loss, in the months leading up to her death.

He said only a specialist neurologist would have been able to identify the tumour and it was unlikely that either a GP or her mother would have been able to diagnose it as the cause of her symptoms.

He explained the symptoms were only detected late and Charlotte's expected lifespan would have only been extended by a matter of days or weeks if the tumour had been diagnosed a month before her death.

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, coroner John Matthews said: "This girl died of a rare brain tumour which it was most unlikely a GP would have diagnosed in time to save her life. Nothing could have been done to change the course of events."