A mother died when she was mistakenly given penicillin by a hospital, despite her wearing a bright red wrist band indicating that she was allergic to it, an inquest heard.

Teresa Innes, 38, suffered an immediate reaction and was left in a coma for two years after staff at the Bradford Royal Infirmary injected her with penicillin even though she had stressed that she was allergic.

The hearing in Bradford was told that her severe allergy had been noted in her medical records when she went in for a minor operation in September 2001.

But before the operation she was injected with a drug which contained penicillin and suffered an anaphylactic reaction which left her in a persistent vegetative state.

On July 22, 2003 the High Court ruled that the hospital trust, with agreement from the family, could withdraw the life-supporting treatment and Miss Innes, a mother-of-one who lived at Ternhill Grove, Bradford, died in August 2003.

The Bradford inquest was told yesterday that Miss Innes had been on holiday to Corfu in the summer of 2001 and returned with an infection in her left thigh, possibly from an insect bite.

The infection turned into an abscess and Miss Innes was referred to the hospital by her doctor, who had also noted her allergy.

It was decided that she needed a minor operation to drain the thigh, and the hearing was told that Miss Innes had made a particular point of telling staff at the hospital that she was allergic to penicillin and it was noted on her medical file.

She was also given a bright red wrist band to wear, indicating her allergy.

But Coroner Roger Whittaker was told the operation was then put off until the next day and that her notes were split up before her prescription was made up by a staff nurse, who had allegedly seen the wrist band but did not realise the drugs contained penicillin.

Miss Innes was then given an injection at about 6am but suffered an immediate reaction and despite attempts to help her she lapsed into a coma and never recovered.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death as anaphylactic shock.

The hearing was told that Miss Innes first became aware of her severe allergy in 1997 when she gave a child some medication and licked the spoon afterwards, which caused her mouth and lips to feel strange.

The nurse who booked Miss Innes on to the ward described how she stressed that she was allergic to penicillin.

Michelle Butler told the coroner: "I asked her if she had any allergies and she said 'penicillin' and said 'can you make sure everybody knows because it's a severe one'."

Mrs Butler wrote the word penicillin in large letters on the form and underlined it. She told the hearing that she then put a red allergy band around Miss Innes's wrist and wrote penicillin on that too.

"The allergy band was clearly visible," Mrs Butler said. "Once I had put it on her I did not see her again."

The hearing is expected to last all week.