Family still waiting to know how woman, 50, died

Zoe Loudon-Godfrey was 50 when she died on holiday

The family of a woman who died suddenly on holiday say they still have not been told her cause of death more than eight months on.

Zoe Loudon-Godfrey, 50, from Bristol, collapsed at her holiday home in Porlock in Exmoor, Somerset, in May and was flown to hospital in Taunton, where her life support was removed.

It took about four weeks, following her death, for the first post-mortem examination to be carried out, which was inconclusive, and the coroner later requested a brain exam.

Somerset Coroner's Service saoid: "We will seek to conclude matters as soon as we are able to."

Susan Hodgetts, Ms Loudon-Godfrey's mum, who lives in Bournemouth, Dorset, said she was initially told a brain examination could take up to six months, but was now being told there was no new timeline.

She said the grief was with her "all day, every day", adding: "Can we have some answers?

"You're imagining things all the time. Your mind's working overtime, and you don't need to be having these awful thoughts, trying to second guess what could have caused it."

Ms Hodgetts said she had not been told why there was a delay.

She added that two weeks before the incident, Ms Loudon-Godfrey had a clear medical exam by her employer.

Susan Hodgetts wants closure on her daughter's death

Somerset Coroner Service, which is funded by the local council but which works independently of it, said: "Zoe's mother, Mrs Hodgetts is aware of the current position regarding the coronial investigation into her daughter's death.

"We appreciate the family's frustrations and have every sympathy for their position.

"We will, of course, seek to conclude matters as soon as we are able to, pending receipt of the outstanding pathology reports.

"At this time, we offer our sincerest condolences to Zoe's friends and family for their loss."

The coroner added neuropathology was a "highly specialised" type of work, and often took a "significant" amount of time to complete, but did say the work had not been "unduly" delayed in this instance.