BATTLING Jill Orrell has won a three-and-a-half year fight for an inquest into the death of her beloved grandmother.

The 40-years-old mum claims that poor medical treatment at Wigan Infirmary led to her nanna Lilian Elliott's death in December 2003.

Now, after her long battle for justice the case will now go before the Bolton coroner on October 26 following a unique U-turn.

Gymnastics teacher Jill, of Staplehurst Close, Hindley Green, started her crusade for an investigation after a pathologist's report stated that 89-years-old Mrs Elliott, who lived in Leigh, died from natural causes - and there was no mention of the injuries or bruising on her body.

From just four days after her death Jill claimed she had repeated requests for an inquest turned down, but stuck to her guns and gathered a huge dossier of correspondence, patient records and medical research to build up her case for investigation.

The breakthrough came recently when a report submitted by privately-hired professor of geriatric medicine, Professor Ken Woodhouse, of Cardiff University, vindicated Jill's belief that failures by the hospital in administering anti-coagulant medication and a subsequent blood transfusion could have contributed to her grandmother's death, and forced the re-opening of the case by the coroner, Jennifer Leeming.

It follows just weeks after health chiefs made an ex-gratia payment of £2,000, which Jill claims is the legal sum the NHS has to pay in a clinical negligence claim for a retired widow and pensioner with no dependents under the age of 18.

Jill, jubilant by her success, has now sent a report to Leigh MP Andy Burnham.

In it she claimed that her nanna, a widow who attended Leigh Gymnastics Club, where Jill is coach, every night, was admitted to Wigan Infirmary with a minor head injury after a fall at her home in which she hit her head on a chest of drawers.

On the first night she was on the ward she was given a sleeping tablet and left alone on a commode. As a result she fell to the floor and was found at 1.30am.

She alleged: "In 17 days as an inpatient she received a fractured hip, a black eye, bruises to the whole of her body, pressure sores, severe diarrhoea and sickness, scratches, pinch marks and bleeding wounds and bled so much she needed a blood transfusion.

"Six units of blood were ordered, she only received four then the transfusion was suddenly stopped by an unknown doctor. She was still bleeding and blood was oozing from her pores. It was terrifying. She died 36 hours after the transfusion was stopped.

"For the last seven days of my nanna's life we slept at the hospital by her side.

"A post-mortem examination was carried out by a Trust pathologist who did not record the horrendous bruising, bleeding or deep vein thrombosis, but he recorded a fracture of the femur of her right hip. My nanna had a total right hip replacement in 1991 and the neck of the femur had been surgically removed and replaced with metal work."

Jill said: "I wondered if he had examined the right body. We were appalled by the treatment she received but we are so relieved that an inquest has finally been opened and hope that the coroner's inquiry will uncover the truth. The last three-and-a-half years have been torture. Hopefully after the inquest we will all be able to grieve for nanna and maybe try to rebuild our lives without her."

It is believed to be the first time the coroner has changed her mind about opening an inquest.

A spokesperson for Wigan NHS Trust said: "We can confirm that we have been advised by HM Coroner that she will be holding an inquest into the death of Mrs Lillian Elliott. The Trust will co-operate fully with HM Coroner's inquiry.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further pending the conclusion of the inquest."

The coroner's office had no comment.