Teen's brain haemorrhage began with headache at a party

Lidia Connolly was at a party when she complained of a slight headache.

When she didn't return from the bathroom, she was found unresponsive and, according to her mum Penny, completely still and "just nothing".

It was a brain haemorrhage that caused her to fall ill and the bleed would prove to be fatal. She was 19.

Now a first aid training course is being held in her memory, offering potentially life-saving skills while also raising money for The Brain Charity - an event that her mum said had left her proud and humbled.

She said her daughter, from Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire, had sung and danced at the friend's party before the headache began.

"We just thought... you're jumping around, you most probably haven't eaten a lot - 'have something to eat, drink'," Connolly said.

The teenager began to feel sick and went to the toilet where her condition worsened.

"We thought 'well, she didn't really drink that much'," Connolly said. "We called the ambulance, paramedics arrived [and] by this time she was just still, she was just nothing.

"She was breathing, but there was nothing."

Her daughter was taken to Worcester Hospital where scans revealed what had happened. She died a few hours later on 25 May.

"She'd do stupid things like buy silly little gifts just to make somebody smile," Connolly recalled.

"She's just fantastic from start to finish to be fair. She was perfect.

"[She] liked nothing more than to see other people happy."

The teenager's former karate club, Young Gloves Karate in Kidderminster, will host the first aid awareness course on 18 October.

Her mum described how karate sessions had helped her daughter become more confident and outgoing.

"I just think it's amazing that they're honouring her memory and I feel so proud that they're doing that and also humbled at the same time," Connolly said.

"I think Lidia left a mark on a lot of people to be honest with you, she touched a lot of people's hearts."

Justin Thomas, head of Young Gloves Karate, said the 19-year-old was a "big part of our club" and her death was devastating for the whole community.

He said the club had a fundraising tradition, adding: "We've actually raised getting up to £90,000 for the community and I can honestly say Lidia was part of that."

He said the upcoming course would cover basic first aid, including topics such as the recovery position, CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

"So many people that I speak to are worried and scared, apprehensive about using defibrillator, so we want to debunk that and say 'actually anybody can use a defib' and give people some hands on experience so they can see how easy it is," he said.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.