Teenager's condition worsens

A 14-year-old girl discovered unconscious next to the dead body of her best friend in a field was fighting for her life today, after her condition deteriorated.

The girl, who has not been named, was on a ventilator in intensive care after being discovered in the field in Co Donegal on Monday.

Police do not suspect foul play and reports yesterday claimed morphine pills and an empty vodka bottle were found next to the teenager and her dead friend, Geraldine Chambers, also aged 14.

The teenager was admitted to Letterkenny General Hospital in a serious condition after she was revived in the field in the village of Ballinbrait near Lifford.

But a hospital spokeswoman said: "She had deteriorated unexpectedly on Monday afternoon. She was sent to intensive care that evening."

The girl’s family were maintaining a bedside vigil.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on the body of Geraldine by Assistant State Pathologist Marie Cassidy but police were withholding the results.