A WOMAN died days after being pricked by a rose thorn, an inquest heard.

Jeanne Harris, 61, pricked her left finger when pruning roses in the garden of her South Cerney home on a Sunday afternoon in June last year.

Two days later Mrs Harris, described by her husband Norman as a keen gardener, showed him her swollen left elbow and he took her to the doctor.

Mrs Harris, a part-time cleaner from Broadway Lane, vomited on her way there and, growing increasingly weak, was referred straight to Cirencester Hospital.

Her condition deteriorated and she was taken to Cheltenham General Hospital for surgery where she died six days after being pricked by the thorn.

Coroner Lester Maddrell today recorded a verdict of death by natural causes on Mrs Harris.

He said the death was due to a combination of septicaemia and necrotising fasciitis caused by a common bacteria called streptococcus pyogenes.

He added that it couldn't be confirmed that the rose prick triggered bacteria that killed her. He said: "Pricking your finger is the most minimal injury you could think of. That was a very tempting solution because the disease manifested itself in the left arm at the elbow.

"This is one of the most unusual cases I have ever had to deal with."

Cheltenham General Hospital consultant pathologist Professor Neil Shepherd told the inquest at Cirencester Magistrates Court that he noted the rare effects of necrotising fasciitis the rapid dying of skin tissues which he said could have been brought on by bacteria through the rose thorn.

"This is a rare condition that just picks on isolated people," he said.

"We do not really know why the bacteria suddenly caused the infection.

"At least the rose thorn will give some answers. It seems too much of a coincidence to say it wasn't, but this disease can come on by itself and many of us carry the bacteria with no ill effects."

The coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.