A HUSBAND has spoken of his bubbly and energetic wife who died after having a fatal reaction to tomatoes.

Mother-of-four Raya French was opening a tin of spaghetti bolognese for her children's tea when the tomatoes in the sauce triggered a massive allergic reaction.

The 37-year-old, from of Wynn Road, Tankerton, near Whitstable, was taken to Kent and Canterbury Hospital suffering from anaphylactic shock and died four days later, never regaining consciousness.

Her death has stunned the community and almost 300 people attended her funeral at All Saints Church, Whitstable. Among them were parents and staff at Swalecliffe School where Mrs French's three youngest children went and where she was a parent governor.

Her husband Stephen, a construction manager, said he and their children, Alexandra, 15, a pupil at the Community College Whitstable, Tom, 10, Maddison, six and Louis, four, would be celebrating Christmas - as his wife would have wished.

But the family are still trying to come to terms with her death and how she could have had such a severe reaction.

Mrs French, who worked as a part-time receptionist for Candoc, developed an allergy to tomatoes three years ago. Initially it was just raw tomatoes that would trigger a reaction and she would suffer hives and asthma attacks. But recently the reactions had become more and more severe, said her husband.

"We were trying to isolate her from any contact with tomatoes whatsoever but it was a near impossibility. She went into anaphylactic shock after opening a tin of spaghetti bolognese for the children's tea.

"It was been hard. The children have coped remarkably well. We will be celebrating Christmas because I want to do it for the children. Their mum won't be there, but her presence is everywhere in this house," he said.

"Raya was scared of dying and used to wake up having nightmares about it. It was prophetic."

Head teacher of Swalecliffe School David Hares said as well as being a parent governor Mrs French used to come into school to help children with their reading and cooking.

"She was a very dynamic, energetic, bubbly person with an enormous and insatiable enthusiasm and her tragic death has hit the community hard," he stressed.