THE children of a teacher who died after collapsing during a tennis match will be tested to see if they have the same hereditary condition which may have killed her.

Vicki Taylor, 49, a languages teacher at Towneley High School, Burnley, was taken ill while playing a mixed-doubles match at Clitheroe Cricket Club with her husband Iain.

At an inquest, coroner Michael Singleton said in a narrative verdict that her collapse was a result of an "electrical defect" in her heart.

Pathologist Dr Nigel Horsefield said it was possible she was suffering from long QT syndrome, a rare, inherited disorder. Intervals in the heart beat cycle are some-times longer than usual, which can trigger a distur-bance of the heart's rhythm.

Speaking after the inquest Mr Taylor said their children, aged eight and six, would be tested for the disorder.

He said: "It is important that they are checked because if they are affected then there is something we can do about it.

"We don't know exactly what killed Vicki but now that the inquest is over Vicki has the chance to rest."

Mrs Taylor, of Wellfield Drive, Burnley, died in Royal Blackburn Hospital on November 3 after a two-month fight for life.

The inquest heard that after her collapse she was revived by paramedics but the brain damage she suffered in in over 25 minutes without breathing left her severely weakened.

She never regained consciousness and died after a plug used to feed her directly into her stomach became infected.

Mr Taylor said hospital staff were "nothing short of fantastic and showed Vicki a lot of respect."