A teenager who collapsed and died while on holiday on Corfu may have been left with surgical material inside her for seven years following an operation, it emerged yesterday.

Karen Murray, 19, died on the way to hospital after collapsing with severe stomach pains and sickness during a holiday with her boyfriend in Sidari.

The Corfu coroner found medical gauze and a number of plastic surgical clips in her abdomen.

Yesterday, a solicitor acting for Miss Murray's family confirmed that she had surgery for a lower bowel disorder at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, in Liverpool, in October and December 1990.

Miss Murray's brother Paul Walker yesterday said: ''Myself and my family are still officially unaware of any post mortem being carried out or of its findings.''

As he wept at a press conference near the family home in Birkdale, Merseyside, he asked to be left alone to grieve, and said simply: ''She was my sister, there are no other words to explain it.''

Solicitor Christopher Sumner, acting on behalf of the family, told the conference: ''It would be extremely premature to consider contacting Alder Hey at the present time. We are only able to confirm that she had surgery. We have no knowledge or indication that anything was wrong with that surgery.

''Until such time as we are given something concrete by way of evidence from the Greek authorities or a confirmatory post mortem over here, it is too premature to consider contacting anyone.''

Miss Murray's body is expected to be flown back to England tomorrow evening or Thursday morning before a British medical team can carry out a fresh post mortem examination, the results of which are expected on Thursday.

Miss Murray, a part-time waitress who had trained as a nursery nurse, is believed to have complained of severe stomach pain and sickness while on holiday with her boyfriend, Mark Holloway.

She was seen by a Greek doctor but after collapsing she was taken by ambulance to the general hospital in Corfu Town, but died during the journey.

It is understood Dr Stephanos Gasteratos, who performed the post-mortem examination, halted proceedings after finding the surgical material in her large intestine.

A public prosecutor and police officers are believed to have been informed.

It emerged yesterday that Miss Murray had been given a colostomy in October, 1990, at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and had returned three months later for related surgery.

A spokesman for the hospital in Liverpool said a child called Karen Murray was treated there eight years ago, but as there had been no contact from the family no clinical information would be released.

He confirmed they were looking into the matter, and added: ''However, the hospital has not been contacted by the family of any patient of that name and therefore it would be inappropriate to release any clinical information.

''As a result of media enquiries, we are presently looking into this matter and would not wish to speculate on current press reports until the full facts are available.''

Miss Murray's mother, Mary Walker, was too upset to talk yesterday about the loss of her daughter. But friends and teachers paid tribute to the teenager.

Tony Morrissey, deputy head teacher at Christ The King RC School, in Birkdale, where Karen was a pupil, said: ''We remember her as a really nice girl.

''She was a very bubbly character and very hardworking. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.''

Brian Mitchell, principal at Southport College, where Miss Murray trained as a nursery nurse, said: ''All of her friends here at the college, both staff and students, are devastated by her tragic death.''

qA five-year-old boy died of asphyxiation through drowning on the first day of a family holiday in Cyprus, Cypriot state pathologist Eleni Antoniou confirmed yesterday.

Max Baker, from Sudbury, Suffolk, died in a crowded Paphos swimming pool on Sunday afternoon.

After eating a heavy lunch with his parents, Peter and Kim, and older brother and sister, the young boy jumped into the pool.

His father Peter started to panic when he lost sight of his youngest son.

Then an alert hotel guest dived into the pool after seeing Max floating motionless in the deep end.

The boy was dragged out of the pool and guests desperately tried to revive him.

Max was taken to Paphos general hospital, where doctors tried for an hour to bring him round, but then pronounced him dead.