The grieving husband of a "loving, caring" woman who died after being put in a police cell said his wife should have been taken to hospital.

Kerry Thornton was arrested after smashing windows in her cafe but her husband insisted she had suffered a brain injury and should have been taken to hospital, not a cell.

Mrs Thornton, 45, fell ill at Cafe Porcupine in Sydney Street, Brighton, which she ran, on April 27.

An ambulance crew was called after she began smashing windows.

But the crew refused to take her to hospital, claiming she was too violent, and police, instead, arrested her under the Mental Health Act and took her to the Hollingbury custody centre.

She collapsed in her cell and was then taken to hospital.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said at the time: "She was very quickly seen by a doctor and transferred to hospital where she died."

Mrs Thornton was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, in a critical condition and her family later made the heartbreaking decision on doctors' advice to switch off her life support machine.

A post-mortem showed she died from liver failure and a head injury.

Martin Thornton, 44, said his wife hurt herself in a fall at their home above the cafe before her arrest.

It was unclear whether the head injury occurred then or when she collapsed in the cell.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating whether police acted properly but Mr Thornton is convinced the emergency services failed in their duty.

He said he wanted them to admit they made mistakes to "restore dignity to such a well-respected woman".

He said: "I'm not saying she would have lived had she gone to hospital first but to die in a police cell like that was so undignified.

"She'd never been in trouble with the police before. It was a tragic end to one of the most lovely women I have ever known."

The front window of the cafe, now closed and with the lease up for sale, has been filled with flowers and sympathy cards from relatives, friends and neighbouring traders.

Mrs Thornton, who had worked in the NHS for 25 years, was running the cafe when she met her husband eight years ago.

Mr Thornton said: "She was warm, gentle, kind, generous and loving - the best woman in the world and we had eight fabulous years.

"She shouldn't have been taken to a cell, she should have gone to hospital.

"I'm not looking for revenge or even an apology but an acknowledgement they were wrong.

"I want the record straight to give Kerry back the respect she deserves and enjoyed all of her life.

"She never hurt anyone. She loved everyone and everyone loved her."

A spokeswoman for the Sussex Ambulance Service said: "We are very sorry to hear of the death of Mrs Thornton and pass our sympathies to her family.

"We received a 999 call to attend to a patient in Sydney Street, Brighton, who was behaving aggressively.

"An ambulance from Brighton was immediately dispatched to the scene and, on arrival, the crew discovered the patient to be behaving violently and the crew was unable to assess her condition.

"The police were called and attended shortly afterwards, as ambulance crews have no authority to restrain a patient or treat them against their will."

An IPCC spokesman said the commission was aware of Mr Thornton's protest and was investigating "all aspects of the case thoroughly".