Mother dies after eating lethal mushrooms

London : A mother of two died in her husband's arms after eating poisonous mushrooms which she thought were edible.

Amphon Tuckey, 39, ate the "death cap" toadstools with a meal of sausages, despite being warned by her husband about the dangers of eating wild fungi.

When she became ill she did not tell her husband, Mike, or paramedics about the mushrooms, so she was not given the correct treatment. She died after 30 hours of extreme agony.

An inquest heard yesterday the mushrooms were picked at the Ventnor Botanic Gardens on the Isle of Wight in September 2008 by her niece Kannika, thinking she recognised them as a type she had previously eaten in Thailand.

Kannika's husband Paul Tuckey said despite being colour blind he was "90 per cent sure" which mushrooms were safe. Kannika, who is in her 20s, asked her aunt to check if the mushrooms were safe to eat and Tuckey, from Newport, Isle of Wight, decided they were fine.

Mike Tuckey told the Newport hearing: "I knew they had picked some mushrooms and I told my wife she was not to eat them. She told me the ones they had picked were the same as ones she had picked a few days earlier so I said it was OK."

Mrs Tuckey, known as Juny, cooked the mushrooms and had half a plateful, while her niece had three or four.

Both fell ill that night. Mike Tuckey said at 2.30am his wife woke doubled up with pain so he called an ambulance, but at this point he did not know she had eaten the mushrooms the previous evening.

"The paramedics were asking what she had eaten and I asked her about the mushrooms. Juny said it was the sausages. I think that was because she thought I would be angry after initially telling her not to eat the mushrooms."

Paramedics decided Mrs Tuckey was suffering from food poisoning and contacted a hospital doctor who suggested she should call back in the morning if her condition had not improved.

The inquest heard her condition continued to deteriorate so later in the day they asked their GP, Dr David Isaac, to visit. Again Mrs Tuckey insisted the mushrooms were not to blame, and Dr Isaac prescribed medication for gastroenteritis.

Her husband said he held her during the night because she was so ill but eventually he dozed off and awoke at 7am to find her dead. Kannika Tuckey spent six days in hospital and recovered.

Christopher Kidd, head gardener at the council-owned Ventnor Botanic Gardens, told the inquest he helped police identify the mushrooms the women had eaten as death caps.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Isle of Wight coroner John Matthews said: "Mrs Tuckey probably misled her husband and the ambulance crew by saying it was the sausages and not the mushrooms. But the amount she had digested meant she would have died anyway."

Contains more than 20 toxic chemicals

The death cap, Latin name Amanita phalloides, is found in summer and autumn throughout Britain, most commonly under oak trees

It has a faint odour of rose petals. It is usually olive coloured but may be pale green or yellow.

The gills on the underside are white and not directly attached to the stem. It contains more than 20 toxic chemicals, but tastes pleasant and may not cause symptoms for up to 24 hours.