Mother's anorexia warning

A Shropshire mother has warned of the dangers of eating disorders after her "extremely bright" and "loving" daughter died following a 10-year battle.

Rebecca Ratcliffe, of Whittington, near Oswestry, known as Becky, died on Saturday from heart failure, aged 29, following a long battle with bulimia and anorexia. Today her mum Patricia paid tribute to her.

She said little seems to be known about the effects bulimia has on electrolites in the body, such as low sodium and potassium levels.

"We never hear the terrible effects it can have and the dangers sufferers put themselves into," she said. "We need to highlight it more so people are aware."

At her lowest, Becky weighed just over 5st.

Mrs Ratcliffe said: "She didn't want to be that thin. Once it got a grip it was really hard to turn things round to fight back. It's addictive. It's an illness."

After attending Whittington Primary School, The Marches School and Technology College in Oswestry and Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, Becky went to study medicine at Imperial College, London. However, she left after two years and her illness took hold.

Mrs Ratcliffe said: "Her father died at the end of her first year and I think that sparked off her eating disorder, because she was very close to him."

She was admitted to Woodbourne Priory Hospital in Birmingham for a time and when her kidneys failed they feared she would not last the weekend.

But Mrs Ratcliffe said Becky got better and returned home for a few years. She took English A- level and graduated from Kings College in London with an English degree.

Mrs Ratcliffe said: "The last thing she wanted was to die. There was no warning, it came so quickly."

She added her daughter "touched everyone she met".

Becky's funeral is at Shrewsbury Cemetery Chapel on Friday, at noon. Donations are welcome to the Eating Disorder Association research programme.

By Suzanne Roberts