A WOMAN aged in her 50s has become the sixth person to die following a massive outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Cumbria. Health officials in Barrow-in-Furness said the woman died on Thursday night.

She had been receiving treatment for the pneumonia-like bug in the intensive care unit of the Royal Lancaster Infirmary where several patients have been treated during the outbreak. Four others -- an 88-year-old man and three women aged between 54 and 76 -- have so far been confirmed as having died from the disease.

Grandmother June Miles, 56, was thought to have become the outbreak's fifth victim when she died last weekend, nearly three weeks after being discharged from hospital.

Barrow coroner Ian Smith opened and adjourned an inquest into her death and is currently awaiting test results which will determine whether Mrs Miles died of Legionnaires' disease, which is spread on tiny water droplets.

A 30-year-old air conditioning unit at a leisure centre in Barrow town centre has been confirmed as the source of the outbreak.

A council officer responsible for maintenance at the centre has been suspended pending police and Health and Safety Executive investigations.

A total of 140 other people have been infected with Legionnaires' disease since the outbreak was spotted earlier this month.

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the family and friends of this lady at this terrible time," said the chief executive of Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust, Ian Cummings.