A TYLDESLEY bakery worker has died after contracting meningitis.

Just two days before his death in Royal Bolton Hospital, Mark Salt had been admitted to the hospital and allowed home after being told he had flu.

Fiancee Carole Hughes, aged 28, shared a home with Mark in Johnson Street North, Tyldesley. The couple had been together since 1988.

She said: "At the moment I just feel nothing, I can't believe it's happened. All I can remember is when Mark was dying I was screaming because I thought if I screamed loud enough he would wake up. It's all happened so quickly.

"I can't believe he's died because so many times I was told he had flu."

Fans and players of Atherton LR have also been stunned by his death.

Mark, aged 29, was responsible for producing the club's programme and had recently created a website on the Internet for the football club.

Atherton LR spokesman Ken Hewitt said: "Mark's death is a great blow to the club. He had a lot of input into this place. He was a smashing lad who will be greatly missed."

A Royal Bolton Hospital spokesman offered condolences to Mark's family, adding: "We are not in a position to comment further on the cause of death nor on the circumstances surrounding his admission to hospital."

Mark's funeral was on Wednesday in Eccles.

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