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Fear ... Samantha 'did not want to be fat bride'
Heroine Navy medic courage BRIDE-TO-BE Samantha Clowe died after losing three stone in 11 weeks - so she would not be fat for her wedding.
Samantha weighed 17st 6lbs when she got engaged, but embarked on a crash diet allowing just 500 calories a day to slim for the big event.
However, after she had shed more than a sixth of her weight, fiancé Andrew Smith returned home to find her collapsed on the landing.
Paramedics were unable to save the 34-year-old metallurgist, a Leeds inquest heard.
Samantha lived in the city and was said to be "fit and well".
She had consulted her GP before starting the 500 calorie LighterLife diet, which involves eating "food packs" including soups, shakes and cereal bars. A woman her age needs 1,900 to 2,000 calories a day. Samantha's mum Barbara told the inquest in a statement: "She said she wanted respect at work and didn't want to be a fat bride.
"She was happy to go on the diet and I think wanted to surprise me by showing how much weight she'd lost."
Home Office pathologist Dr Alfredo Walker said a post-mortem examination failed to establish a cause of death. He added: "But it may be related to her low calorie diet and weight loss."
West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff said it was "highly likely" the 5ft 9in Leeds University graduate died from cardiac arrhythmia, when the heart suddenly stops beating.
But he said it was impossible to establish whether her death was linked to the diet.
Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Hinchliff said: "The evidence cannot point one way or the other as to whether her indulging in that diet in any way caused or contributed to her death."
A LighterLife spokesman said: "We were very sad to hear the news of Samantha.
Engaged ... tragic Samantha Clowe with fiancé Andrew Smith
Ross Parry "The coroner said she was clinically obese which increased the risk of cardiac death. It had been suggested there was a possible link to the diet, but the coroner said it was very difficult to make such a connection.
"LighterLife is a clinically monitored programme and has helped 150,000 people lose weight safely in the past 12 years.
"Samantha came to us weighing more than 17 stone. Although she lost three stone, her health may have already been compromised."
Dr David Haslam, Chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Modern very low calorie diets are a safe and proven way to lose weight.
"Samantha's death tragically shows the real dangers of being obese." Her brother Daniel, 29, said he blamed himself for making her feel insecure about her weight when they were kids.
He said: "She was always big and unhappy with it, but I didn't realise she would do something so drastic.
"She looked pale when I last saw her, but I never thought this would happen."
In 2006, 25-year-old Londoner Matilda Callaghan died of suspected heart arrythmia after losing ten stone on the LighterLife diet.
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