A 15-year-old girl who was struck down by meningitis has returned home from hospital after a week-long battle against the killer disease.

Clare Carter was too weak to talk but her father Alan said his brave daughter was doing well.

The pupil from Bexhill High School collapsed on Tuesday after suffering from severe vomiting and flu-like symptoms.

She was taken to The Conquest Hospital, in Hastings, where she developed a rash. Doctors instantly diagnosed meningitis and the sick teenager was rushed to Guys Hospital in London.

Alan said: "In the back of my mind I think I knew it was meningitis. She had been off school for days and did not seem to be getting better. I planned to phone the hospital if her condition got worse and then she suddenly

collapsed.

"It all happened so quickly. I was terrified. At the hospital we were not allowed to see Clare and doctors said her condition was critical."

Alan, of Ninfield Road, Bexhill, spent an agonising four days at his daughter's bedside holding her hand and praying she would get better.

He said: "She looked so weak and pale. My life was thrown into chaos but I had to stay strong for Clare.

"The nurses and doctors were wonderful. They gave her the best possible care and helped me get through the toughest time of my life."

But Clare surprised doctors and her family by making a rapid recovery, despite being close to death.

Alan said: "She is a very strong girl who loves horse riding and is very sporty. She never sits around the house watching television.

"She is always out with friends or pursuing various hobbies. Thankfully her courage and strength helped her make this amazing recovery."

Alan, Clare's 13-year-old brother Sam, her dad and three of her closest friends have now been treated with antibiotics as a precaution.

Alan said: "I was worried Clare may have passed meningitis to her brother but doctors told me it was extremely rare for meningitis to be passed on to siblings or parents."

Clare will spend several weeks at home before returning to school.

She will return to hospital this week to have her sight and hearing checked.

A four-year-old boy is also back home after being treated for suspected meningitis at the Conquest Hospital.

The child, who attends the Young Sussex Nursery in Bexhill, is said to have made a full recovery.

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