A 62-YEAR-OLD from Weston died after contracting gastroenteritis while on holiday, an inquest heard. Marlane Yeates, of Kew Road, began suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting while on a cruise to the Mediterranean. The ship returned to England early so Mrs

A 62-YEAR-OLD from Weston died after contracting gastroenteritis while on holiday, an inquest heard.Marlane Yeates, of Kew Road, began suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting while on a cruise to the Mediterranean. The ship returned to England early so Mrs Yeates could be admitted to hospital.Speaking at an inquest at Flax Bourton Magistrates Court, members of Mrs Yeates' family said they were concerned that she was not given antibiotics straight away when the ship's doctor said she needed them urgently, but was prescribed them a day before her death which was 'too late.'Mrs Yeates, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, in 2004, also suffered a broken arm while on holiday and had a painful, swollen leg.Dr Frank Booth, a haematologist at Weston General Hospital who treated Mrs Yeates, said: "We wouldn't treat diarrhoea and vomiting with antibiotics."It was difficult to discern whether she had an infection in her leg or deep vein thrombosis so we did not prescribe antibiotics until we had a clear diagnosis."Dr Booth said she was put on the drugs on the second day of her hospital stay, on October 12, 2006, after a scan revealed she was suffering from a skin infection called cellulitis. On the same day, Mrs Yeates suffered a fit and was taken to the intensive care unit where she died the next day.District coroner Paul Forrest recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.