A man from Maple Cross has spoken about how a friend's birthday celebration ended with his partner in a coma fighting for her life.

Elita Eltelmane, 43, was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Monday morning, after injuring her head on Friday evening.

Ms Eltelmane's partner, Peter Collins, 44, said: “We were celebrating her friend's birthday on Friday, when Elita fell down and hit her head on the bin. I was only a small cut, it stopped bleeding in about five minutes.

“She was fine after that, we even did a bit of shopping and went for a walk on Chorleywood Common on Sunday, she loves the countryside and getting out and about.

“She is very intelligent, she went to music school for ten years and can play the piano, speak four languages and has a degree in German.

“On Monday she woke up really early and was really unwell, being sick, I called an ambulance and we went to the hospital where they told me it was a brain haemorrage.”

On Monday the Watford Observer reported how police had cordoned off a house in Ladywalk, to allow forensic officers into the scene.

After further investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary are not treating the incident as suspicious.

Mr Collins met Ms Eltelmane in Uxbridge where she lived, having moved to England from Latvia 15 years ago, and the couple have been together for about four months.

He said: “It's just so sad, we've got so many plans, yesterday she was supposed to start an improve your English course at West Herts College, she was going to sing with the Latvian Choir in London later this year, we wanted to go on holiday and generally have a better life.

“The hospital have done some scans and there's been a slight improvement, the bleeding has stopped but the swelling is worse. The police have contacted her mother and brother in Latvia and they're devastated.”

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