A British holidaymaker collapsed and died after downing cleaning fluid which she mistakenly believed was a bottle of water in her hotel room, an inquest heard.
Gloria Smith, 60, was enjoying a two week break in Cyprus with her partner Raymond Francis, 62, when she took a sip from what she believed was a bottle of mineral water.
But unbeknown to her, the bottle contained lethal stain remover which had been used by a cleaner who accidentally left it on a table in the couple's room.
Seconds after drinking the fluid, Mrs Smith collapsed in the bathroom and screamed: 'It's poison.'
Despite being rushed to hospital she died after suffering a build up of fluid in the lungs brain sparked by the cleaning fluid.
An inquest heard Mrs Smith, a retired hairdresser from Walsall, West Midlands, was on the fourth day of her holiday when she drank the poisonous liquid in September 2010.
The hearing at Walsall Coroner's Court was told the cleaner had put stain remover in the container to avoid carrying a big bottle of it while she made up the rooms.
Mrs Smith's distraught partner Raymond told the inquest: 'I put the liquid to my lips after Mrs Smith collapsed to the floor and I could immediately feel burning.
I tried to help her straight away, the bottle was the same appearance as a normal small water container.'
The inquest heard the cleaner at the hotel admitted she had siphoned the dangerous stain removing fluid to a clear water bottle
In a statement in the inquest, the cleaner said the bottle 'had not been intentionally left on the table.'
Recording a narrative verdict, Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain blasted the hotel's 'grossly negligent practice' of transferring cleaning fluids to drinking bottles.
Speaking after the hearing Raymond said: 'It was negligence. She was an emotional lady but very loving, we had spoken about getting married.
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