Louise Matthews believes the reason her daughter is still alive is a testament to the memory of three children who lost their lives to meningitis.

Mrs Matthews, a mother of three recognised the signs of the killer disease as soon as her daughter became unwell.

Her insistence that doctors in a Spanish hospital check for meningitis may have saved her daughter Abigail's life.

The death of three children in Sussex in recent years was not in vain as Mrs Matthews had learned the symptoms.

Mrs Matthews, her husband William, and the three children, Oliver, now 15, Louie, now 12, and Abigail, now seven, of Stapley Road, Hove, flew out to Ibiza in August 2003 for what they thought would be the holiday of a lifetime.

Louise, who works in the canteen at West Hove School, said: "We had been away for about seven days when she became ill.

"She became poorly very quickly. She had been grouchy all through the day but we thought it was the heat.

"As the day went on, she had a headache and we put her to bed at 11pm but within an hour she was screaming, saying her eyes were hurting."

Mrs Matthews switched a lamp on but Abigail could not bear the light, a symptom of meningitis. She gave Abigail Calpol and Neurofen but her temperature remained high and she showed no improvement.

Mrs Matthews said: "I woke my brother and went to a clinic.

"Luckily, my brother speaks fluent Spanish and he asked if it was meningitis because I knew it was. They said it was chicken pox."

The clinic told Mrs Matthews to take her daughter back to bed so the family returned to the house but within half an hour, the lower half of Abigail's body was covered in a tell-tale rash.

Mrs Matthews carried out the glass tumbler test, rolling a glass over the rash. The rash did not fade under the pressure, confirming her worst fears.

Abigail was rushed to hospital and spent the next eight days in isolation.

When Abigail was well enough, the family flew back to England and went to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Brighton for a further eight days.

Mrs Matthews believes Abigail was saved because of the campaign run by Sally and David Harris and Elizabeth and Alan Yates. The couples lost their daughters to the disease.

Alexandra Yates and her best friend Emma Harris both died from meningitis C.

Emma died on Boxing Day 1994 and Alexandra a few days later on January 3.

More recently, a young boy in Hove lost his life to the disease.

Louise said: "I knew what Abigail had because there had been so much awareness. I really think it saved her life."