A MOTHER-of-three left brain damaged by an allergic reaction to medicine she was given within hours of giving birth to a daughter has won a compensation deal worth millions.

Sally Gardner, 36, of Woodcock Road, Warminster, gave birth to her third child at Northampton General Hospital in December 1999, but later had to undergo surgery to remove part of her placenta.

On Tuesday the High Court in London heard how she was given a drug called Augmentin, to which she suffered a catastrophic anaphylactic reaction.

She turned blue and started to suffer a fit, stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest.

A surgeon was at her bedside within a minute or two, but it took a full cardiac arrest team and several doses of Adrenalin to re-start her heart.

By that time she had suffered irreversible brain damage.

With the help of her mother Mrs Gardner, who worked as an assistant pub manageress in Northampton at the time, she sued the hospital's managers Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.

Judge Mr Justice Eady, approved a final settlement on her case on the basis of 80 per cent liability.

Richard Barraclough QC, for Mrs Gardner, said she would receive a lump sum payment of £600,000 immediately, along with a guaranteed £82,000 a year for the next nine years, to provide for her care and all the additional help she needs in bringing up her children, now aged 17, eight and six.

Thereafter her annual payments will drop to £71,500, but they will continue for the rest of her life.

Mr Barraclough said: "Mrs Gardner suffers major difficulties with her memory and executive functions and needs constant support, reassurance and encouragement in caring for her children." She has problems with even the most basic personal care and household tasks, and although her intellect was badly affected by the brain damage, she enjoys puzzles and has now embarked on a computer course.

Mr James Watson QC, for the NHS Trust, told the court: "One acknowledges this injury has had an impact not solely on Sally Gardner but has also had an untold impact on her close family.

"May I pay tribute to the way the family has rallied round. It denotes real courage and devotion in the way they have supported her and my clients hope that this settlement will alleviate both Sally's life and that of her family."

Mrs Gardner's mother and sister Nicki Millard were in court to hear the settlement announced and said later: "We're just glad it's all over."