A YOUNG mother has died from a heart infection shortly after giving birth to her second child.

Kate Bradford, aged 29, was unaware she had a heart murmur which made her susceptible to the fatal infection, which can be caused by the most minor injury to the mouth or skin.

The mother of two had just given birth to baby Finlay, now aged four months, when she became seriously ill with the infection of the heart, called endocarditis.

Tragically, Kate died hours before she was due to have a valve replacement operation -- on the same Bolton wards in which she worked as a smoking cessation officer.

It was the end of a four week fight for Kate, who lived in Kearsley and has been described as a "beautiful girl" with a "wonderful smile".

She leaves behind husband, Dave, aged 32, little Finlay, and older son Harry, aged three.

The 32-year-old widower, left devastated by his wife's death, said: "After Finlay was born, Kate seemed like she had a cold, but it got worse. At one point she lost her memory and that's when we called a doctor out.

"The doctor was brilliant. He spotted straight away that Kate had the heart infection. She was in hospital 15 minutes later."

Family and friends are now raising thousands of pounds for a charity which Kate supported, the Bolton Evening News Coronary Care Appeal.

Kate's best friend, Anne Kaneen, Bolton's Woman of the Year and appeal committee member said: "Kate was a very caring person who was passionate about people.

"We had a very good rapport despite our age difference.

"Her death was awful. She was a good, good person -- a beautiful girl with a wonderful smile. I saw her hours before she died. I walked her down the hospital corridor and she waved at me and gave me that wonderful smile. We are all devastated."

Kate and Dave married in the Dominican Republic in 1997 and they had always dreamed of having two children.

Dave said: "It was supposed to be a happy time. No-one is to blame and nothing can be done to bring her back. Harry has been asking for his mummy, wondering if we can get a plane to heaven.

"It sounds harsh but I am thinking more about the practical side of looking after the boys. They will grow up knowing their mother because I have many pictures and videos of her which they will see. They will not forget."

Endocarditis is rare, but struck another young Bolton woman, Dipika Patel, of Deane. The Bolton Evening News revealed how the 26-year-old student needed a heart transplant after developing the same infection shortly after having her wisdom teeth removed.