An inquest into the death of a mum-of-three who was considered well enough to be discharged just hours before she died is to be restarted.

Gravesend Old Town Hall has this week been hearing evidence regarding the death of 25-year-old Sian Hollands at Darent Valley Hospital, but yesterday it was unexpectedly adjourned after it emerged that a key witness required legal representation.

Despite a medical barrister being parachuted in for the inquest to be resumed at 10am this morning, senior coroner Roger Hatch made the decision to adjourn again and start the hearing from scratch next Monday.

There was some suggestion it could be delayed even longer over fears that witnesses and solicitors would be unable to balance their timetables, but Mr Hatch said: "The sooner this is resumed and dealt with, the better. I don't want to adjourn it for a longer period.

"This has been hanging over the family I am aware for some considerable time and it's only fair to them that this is brought to a conclusion as soon as possible.

Dr Kamran Khan's need for representation came to light yesterday, when he disputed an admission by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust that the decision to discharge Sian at 3.30pm on Sunday, November 15, 2015 was "inappropriate".

Prior to the inquest he had indicated he was happy for the Trust to represent him, but told the court he was not given vital notes by nurses monitoring Sian for much of the day before he discharged her, including that she had been given oxygen and continued to complain of the chest and stomach pains that had seen her admitted the day before.

Dr Khan said: "If I was aware of the facts, my decision to discharge her at that moment would have been wrong, but this was my personal clinical assessment."

He was said he was "shocked" to hear of Sian's death at just before 10pm on the Sunday. He had finished his shift at 5pm and was told she had died over the phone.

"This has been hanging over the family I am aware for some considerable time" Roger Hatch

Sian's death has been put down to a pulmonary embolism - a hard to identify clot that prevents blood reaching the lungs.

In addition to giving Dr Khan's solicitor more time to prepare, it is hoped that the adjournment will give the Trust an opportunity to track down the agency nurse looking after Sian for much of the Sunday.

On Monday the inquest heard from Sian's former partner Carl Elleyne, who was with her at the hospital for much of the Sunday, who criticised the conduct of two nurses.

The agency nurse has so far not been called to give evidence as they have not been identified, but the Trust believes it may be close to tracking her down.

The inquest will start again at 10am next Monday - 449 days after Sian's death.

Barrister Edward Ramsay, representing the family, said: "The family have pushed and pushed and pushed for answers and to be told now that the inquest needs to be delayed is very difficult from their point of view."