Thatcher's Funeral: Osborne Moved To Tears

George Osborne was moved to tears during the funeral service for Baroness Thatcher despite hardly knowing the former prime minister.

The Chancellor, who is a huge admirer of the Iron Lady, could be seen crying as he sat with his wife Frances behind David and Samantha Cameron.

Aides to the Tory Cabinet minister declined to elaborate on his emotional response at the service which was attended by the Queen - saying it "speaks for itself".

Sitting behind David Cameron with tears in his eyes

Mr Osborne was only 19 when Lady Thatcher left power in 1990 and his formative political years were dominated by Tony Blair.

But in an article after the former Tory leader's death last week, he wrote of the "overpowering" effect of her historical significance on his generation of Conservatives.

"I remember bringing my young son to a tea in the House of Lords with Baroness Thatcher a few years ago and trying to explain to him as we walked along the corridor that he was about to meet a great figure from British history," he wrote in The Times.

"I said to him that just as he was now studying at school the lives of Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell and Winston Churchill, so schoolchildren for hundreds of years to come would study the life and times of a woman he was nervously about to have tea with. He told me that they already were studying her.

"Sometimes that sense of historical greatness risks being overpowering for the two generations of politicians who have come after her, including my own.

"Whatever we try to achieve and whatever parliamentary battles we fight, all seem to shrink in size alongside the struggles and triumphs of Margaret Thatcher."

Arriving for the funeral with wife Frances

Mr Osborne said he had watched "bemused" in his rooms at Magdalen College, Oxford, as Lady Thatcher was ejected from Downing Street.

He said he met her "a few times" following his election as MP for Tatton in 2001 but their only long one-to-one meeting was after he became shadow chancellor in 2005.

She left a "powerful impression", he recalled, despite already being unwell and "unengaged with contemporary issues".

Leaving the service, eyes dry once again

"She was flowing with advice to me: you can't spend what your country hasn't got; strong defence rests on a strong economy; in Parliament, if you're not on the attack you're in retreat. Wow!," he wrote.

"I saw for myself for the first and only time why she had been such a force of political nature throughout my whole life."

Mr Osborne described himself as one of "Thatcher's children", praising her optimism about the human spirit.

In a 2005 interview with The Independent, Mr Osborne pointed out that he was too young to remember many of Lady Thatcher's biggest battles.

"For much of my life, Tony Blair has been the dominating figure of British politics," he said.

"Because of my age, I don't look back on the Thatcher years or have memories of the winter of discontent. My adult lifetime has been about a Blair-dominated political environment."

Mr Osborne was also said to be pleased when the Daily Mail ran a Budget front page in March which merged his picture with Lady Thatcher's.

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Free Sandwiches May Have Contained Rat Poison

Twenty employees of a company in Germany have been hospitalised in case sandwiches they were given as a gift turn out to have been poisoned.

The suspicious sandwiches were left on the doorstep of a company near the northwestern town of Vechta on Tuesday with a note saying they were a present.

Police say 25 employees of the company in Steinfeld, Lower Saxony, ate the sandwiches before someone noticed a strange substance on them.

The emergency services were called and a fleet of ambulances took those who had eaten the sandwiches for urgent treatment.

The company and the identity of those who ate them has not been revealed.

Local reports in Germany say the substance is suspected to be rat poison.

Police said those placed in hospital were taken in as a precaution. They are in intensive care, according to local media. 

Area force spokesman Klaus Koesterke said Wednesday that so far none of those hospitalised has shown symptoms of poisoning.

But officials said they are not excluding the possibility of a slow-acting poison.

Uneaten samples of the sandwiches have been sent to a Berlin laboratory for tests.

Officers have also appealed for anyone else who may have eaten the sandwiches to come forward.

It has also not been revealed why the employees thought the rolls were safe to eat.

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Poisonous Ricin In Letter Sent To Obama: FBI

A letter with a "suspicious substance" has been sent to President Barack Obama, says the US Secret Service.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says the letter was intercepted at a facility away from the White House. He says the letter was received Tuesday.

The development comes a day after lawmakers said a separate letter was mailed to a US senator that tested positive for poisonous ricin. Another senator said police have a suspect in mind.

Tensions have been high in Washington and across the US since the deadly bombings on Monday at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured more than 170.

More follows...

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Boston Bombs: First Pictures Of Devices

US authorities have released the first pictures of the explosive devices used in the twin blasts which hit the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The images show twisted pieces of a metal container, wires, a battery and a small circuit board which exploded close to the finish line at the race.

In another, a piece of charred wire can be seen attached to a small box and a twisted metal lid with bolts.

The FBI said on Tuesday that a pressure cooker may have been used to build the bombs, with nails, ball bearings and other metal packed around the explosive.

The device may also have been hidden inside rucksacks placed on the ground near the finish line.

Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge said the investigation to find those responsible would be worldwide.

He vowed: "We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime."

More than 1,000 officers are working on the investigation which agents have said in the largest the Boston bureau has ever worked on. 

Pressure cooker bombs have been used in attacks in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 FBI report.

But the techniques of making them is understood to be known to domestic US extremists.

Officials said that there was no indication that al Qaeda or other foreign extremist organisations were behind the attack, but they added the investigation was still at an early stage.

It is not yet known what was used to set off the devices.

The damage caused by one of the blasts in Boston

Special agent DesLauriers said experts would reconstruct the devices at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI also appealed for anyone who was in the area of the marathon or Boston airport in the last few days to send in any pictures they may have taken.

Investigators are already understood to be examining 6,000 movies-worth of CCTV footage from cameras in the area.

Websites and newspapers were already featuring images which they claimed showed people suspected of carrying out the attacks or the devices.

The FBI said it was looking at one sent to a local TV station which appeared to show a bag next to a mailbox in the area where one of the bombs went off.

Jason Pack, FBI spokesman in Boston, said: "We're taking a look at hundreds of photos and that's one of them." 

Three people were killed and more than 170 others injured after the two explosions around four hours into the famous marathon.

Two of those killed were Krystle Campbell, 29, and eight-year-old Martin Richard.

The third is understood to be a Chinese graduate student who has been named locally and in China, but not named officially.

Nine children were among the injured, which were aged between two and 71.

Doctors have revealed the extent of the injuries suffered by those caught in the blasts, including details of a nine-year-old girl who lost her leg and a 10-year-old boy who suffered deep shrapnel wounds.

George Velmahos, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: "These bombs contained small metallic fragments more consistent with pellets and other small pieces of metal, but also spiked points that resembled nails without heads."

A total of 13 people have had to have limbs amputated and others are at risk of losing legs following the blasts. Seventeen remain in a critical condition.

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Child Caught In Battle Over US Tribal Rights

America's highest court is deciding the fate of a three-year-old girl who was adopted at birth but then forcibly returned to her Native American father.

The case is the first time in 14 years and only the second time ever that the US Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978.

The law was intended to prevent Native American children from being separated from their families.

Matt and Melanie Capobianco are appealing a 2011 family court decision that annulled their adoption and transferred custody of Veronica, aged two at the time, to Dusten Brown after DNA tests proved his paternity.

He had renounced his parental rights during the pregnancy but changed his mind when he heard about the adoption.

The decision was upheld in July, when the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled with a "heavy heart" in favour of the biological father, a decision the dissenting justices described as a "human tragedy".

Now three years old, Veronica lives with Mr Brown and his new partner in Oklahoma.

The adoptive parents, who are supported by the biological mother, protested to the US Supreme Court.

They argue the ICWA does not apply in 11 other US states where Native American tribes are located.

They say the judgement would have been different if the adoption had taken place elsewhere.

The couple's lawyer, Lisa Blatt, called the situation "absurd" and "Kafkaesque" in arguments on Tuesday before the US Supreme Court.

She said it could effectively ban cross-racial adoption of Native American children.

But the biological father, who is supported by the Cherokee Nation, got an unexpected boost from two of the justices.

"He's the father," said Antonin Scalia.

"If the father's fit, why do you think that the federal statute requires that it be given to a stranger rather than to the biological father?", said Sonia Sotomayor.

The Capobiancos had made seven unsuccessful IVF attempts before the adoption.

They also financed part of the medical costs for the child's birth mother, who was not Native American, attended the September 2009 birth and returned to South Carolina with Veronica when she was just eight days old.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who has two adopted children himself, seemed to lean in favour of the Capobiancos when Mr Brown was described in court as excited about being a father.

"He was excited by it. He just didn't want to take responsibility," the judge said.

A decision is expected in late June before the court ends its session.

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Mother's Toddler Murder Conviction Quashed

A woman has had her conviction for murdering her toddler son quashed by appeal judges.

No reason was given for the decision to overturn Kimberley Hainey's life sentence, which was issued in December, 2011, for the murder of her son Declan in their home in Paisley in Renfrewshire.

It is expected the court will hear the opinion of judges Lord Clarke, Lord Mackay of Drumadoon and Lord Drummond Young on Thursday.

Hainey, 38, was originally told she would serve a minimum of 15 years for the murder.

Declan's mummified body was was discovered in March 2010, when he would have been 23 months old.

He was last seen alive when he was 15 months old.

During the judge's sentencing, Lord Woolman told Hainey: "Declan's first birthday took place in April, 2009, he appeared to have all his life in front of him.

"He was surrounded by a loving family and people thought you were a loving mother. A few months later he was dead.

"You were Declan's carer. You did not allow others to get close to him. Instead you isolated him from your family, your neighbours, your friends and from the welfare services.

"None of them thought that Declan's life was at risk. You engineered that situation.

"You embarked on a systematic and elaborate course of conduct to prevent people knowing, or suspecting, that Declan was dead.

"It was a lengthy course of deceit that prevented proper inquiries being made."

The judge acknowledged that Hainey had struggled with drink and drugs and that her son's death was a "huge tragedy" for her, as she said she loved the boy "more than anything in the world".

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Lowestoft: Death Fall Mum 'Cared Too Much'

A heavily pregnant woman who fell to her death before her three young children were found dead was "beautiful and intelligent", her family have said.

Fiona Anderson had suffered from mental illness

Fiona Anderson, 23, has now been formally identified after she suffered fatal head injuries at a multi-storey car park on Monday morning.

Officers investigating the incident later found the children - named by neighbours as Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old baby Kyden - at their home in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

In a statement issued by Suffolk police, Ms Anderson's mother Kerry, father Michael and sisters Claire and Laura said she "cared passionately", but had suffered with mental illness from a young age.

Levina

They said: "Fiona was a beautiful, intelligent girl and a loving and caring person, but she had suffered from mental illness since she was young and we believe she was driven to her actions yesterday.

"This was not our Fiona - she was not herself. She cared passionately about others but often brought stress on herself by caring too much.

"She was gentle but ended up under too much pressure.

Addy

"As a family we were close but she would often push us away, keen to do her own thing and not to listen when we offered support. Life was sometimes overwhelming for her.

"She was really popular but just didn't believe she was and had forgotten there were people there that could help her.

"We wish more had been done to recognise her mental health problems, which could be masked by her intelligence and creativity. She would often make costumes for the children, who she loved very much."

Kyden

The family added that Ms Anderson would be remembered as a "girlie girl" who was also a very private person.

Post-mortem examinations have failed to ascertain how the children died and further tests will be carried out, police said.

Neighbours said Ms Anderson was eight months pregnant with a baby girl she had planned on calling Evalie.

CCTV images show Fiona Anderson shortly before her death

She was seen entering the car park in Battery Green Road, Lowestoft, shortly before 8am on Monday.

CCTV footage showed Ms Anderson walking around Lowestoft holding a teddy bear shortly before she was found.

Detective Superintendent John Brocklebank said the force was "conducting a meticulous investigation" into the tragedy.

The IPCC said it was awaiting details of the case from Suffolk police.

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Thatcher Funeral: Pockets Of Protests

There have been some protests - though smaller than expected - at the funeral of Baroness Thatcher.

Rows broke out between supporters of Lady Thatcher and demonstrators outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.

A pensioner called Phil Williams, who was dressed in a suit and black tie, was holding a banner saying "Rest in Shame" and a "piece of s***", drawing loud cheers.

"Sorry, but it needs saying, they're burying an old woman," said the 58-year-old former power station worker from Shotton in Flintshire.

Protesters set fire to a coffin containing an effigy of Lady Thatcher

He added: "No one's ever heard of Shotton apart from the fact that they lost 8,000 jobs when the steelworks closed in the early 80s.

"Look at what she did to the North, steelworks, mining, the poll tax. She trialled all these things in the North and made criminals out of a million people. I have no regard for the woman."

Protester Charmain Kenner, 58, had her back turned as Lady Thatcher's coffin went past Trafalgar Square in the hearse.

She said: "Thatcher's policies were all about individualistic materialism. She created a much greater divide between rich and poor, she ruined many communities and many industries.

A protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice

"Basically, she ruined this country and, to add insult to injury, we're expected to pay for her funeral."

A protester who gave her name only as Helen stood outside St Paul's during the funeral service, wearing a mask of Lady Thatcher's face.

"It would be lovely if other pensioners could spend their last days in luxury at the Ritz," she said.

"I don't really care about Thatcher's death. She obviously didn't really care about the poor or elderly, or those with dementia when she was prime minister.

Some demonstrators wore Lady Thatcher masks

"I think it's really scandalous that we've spent all this money and time on her funeral. It just adds insult to injury."

Sky's Mick McCarthy, in the former coal town of Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire, said: "There is a truly unique atmosphere. As much of the nation mourns, the mood among former miners and their families in many former coalfields is upbeat and celebratory.

"More than 1,000 people have turned up for what has been described as a death party - unlike any other event I can remember with babies wearing The Witch is Dead t-shirts and a parade lead by a mock hearse and coffin."

In Durham, dozens of ex-miners arrived at a club in Easington Colliery, with many of them saying they were there to celebrate Baroness Thatcher's death.

A protest referring to Lady Thatcher's famous phrase

Hundreds are expected to attend the event, which will also commemorate the end of mining in the town.

Dave Douglass, who worked at Doncaster coalfield for 35 years, said he was there to mourn her birth.

"She wanted to smash the union and sell off whatever was profitable," he said.

"I'm here to mourn her birth as she represents the system that we are all still suffering under.

"I'm also here to commemorate the loss of this pit and every pit in Great Britain.

"If people say it's in bad taste to do this, I would say it was in bad taste when miners were killed on the picket lines.

Protesters in London during the funeral

"I have been watching so much psychotic drivel on the news this morning talking about the names of each horse in the funeral. It's the kind of stage-managed stuff we see in North Korea."

In Liverpool, the city council made the decision not to show the funeral on the big screen in the town centre in Clayton Square.

A spokesman said: "We considered the potential issues and the decision was made not to screen the funeral."

Lady Thatcher was seen as a particularly divisive politician by many on Merseyside due to her attack on the unions which affected thousands of dockers and her perceived lack of interest in the city's problems in the wake of the 1981 Toxteth riots.

Grimethorpe Colliery has not forgotten its anger

At Cumnock in East Ayrshire, the Glenmuir Arms hosted a "funeral party".

Landlord Jim McMahon, a former miner, decked out his pub in Union Flag bunting for a celebration of Lady Thatcher's death in an area where the mining industry was decimated during the years of her reign.

Pub televisions were switched off as a protest against the money spent on the funeral.

Speakers, including former MSP Tommy Sheridan, gave their address from a stage above a pair of papier-mache legs protruding from a sealed box, alongside a witch's broom.

Pub-goers at the Glenmuir Arms in Cumnock celebrate with champagne

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Baroness Thatcher's Funeral At St Paul's

Baroness Thatcher has been given a ceremonial funeral at St Paul's Cathedral as Britain remembers a famous but divisive prime minister.

The Queen, her presence effectively raising it to a state event, joined dignitaries from around the world and all Lady Thatcher's successors.

It was the first time the monarch had attended the funeral service of a former prime minister since Sir Winston Churchill's state ceremony in 1965.

The UK's first and so far only female prime minister was given full military honours, her coffin brought to St Paul's on a gun carriage drawn by six black horses.

Lady Thatcher's family on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral

Security across the capital was tight but there appeared to be far smaller crowds than expected, with some areas where barriers were erected almost empty.

Scotland Yard said no arrests were made in London during the morning, although many onlookers were furious that taxpayers were paying most of the funeral bill.

Inside the famous church, more than 2,300 guests paid tribute, led by the former politician's children Mark and Carol and her two grandchildren Michael and Amanda.

Sitting a few rows behind them among today's parliamentarians was Chancellor George Osborne, who had tears running down his face.

An aerial view of St Paul's as the coffin arrived

Aides to the Cabinet minister declined to elaborate on his emotional response, saying it "speaks for itself".

More than 30 members of the Iron Lady's cabinets, including Lord Heseltine and Lord Howe who played a key role in her downfall, were at the service.

Alongside them were dignitaries from around 170 countries, including two heads of state and 11 serving prime ministers.

No-one from the White House was there, but former US vice-president Dick Cheney and ex-secretary of state Henry Kissinger attended in a private capacity.

More than 50 guests were associated with the Falklands, including one of the conflict's most well-known veterans Simon Weston.

Chancellor George Osborne shedding a tear during the service

Figures from the entertainment world included Sir Terry Wogan, Jeremy Clarkson, Katherine Jenkins, Joan Collins and Lord Lloyd-Webber.

The main service was conducted with more pomp and ceremony than any funeral seen in London since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.

Lady Thatcher had planned it to the last detail and at her express wish, her granddaughter Amanda read the first lesson.

David Cameron read from the Gospel and the Bishop of London gave an address which deliberately steered clear of talking about her political legacy.

He said: "The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an "ism".

"Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service. Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings.

"There is an important place for debating policies and legacy; for assessing the impact of political decisions on the everyday lives of individuals and communities.

David Cameron doing a reading in front of the coffin

"Parliament held a frank debate last week - but here and today is neither the time nor the place."

Music by British composers was played at the beginning and end of the service, and the hymns reflected aspects of Lady Thatcher's life.

They included He Who Would Valiant Be, Love Divine All Loves Excelling to mark the influence of her Methodist upbringing and I Vow To Thee My Country because of her love for the nation.

At the end, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave the blessing before the coffin was removed by bearers from units linked to the Falklands War.

The Queen greeting Mark and Carol Thatcher outside the church

The waiting crowd gave three cheers as it emerged, after which the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh joined Lady Thatcher's family on the Cathedral steps.

The ceremony followed a sombre procession through central London, which was on lockdown with 4,000 police officers on duty in case of any unrest.

Many among those lining the streets appeared to be Thatcher supporters, although others booed or performed a silent protest as the coffin passed.

The honours had started at dawn with the lowering of flags over government buildings all around the country, where they will remain until dusk.

Big Ben then fell silent at 9.45am and did not chime again until 1pm, in a mark of respect from the institution that made Lady Thatcher's name.

Her coffin, which had rested in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in Westminster overnight, was removed from Parliament at 10am.

The Blairs and the Camerons were in the congregation

People applauded as the hearse made its way up Whitehall past Downing Street - the politician's home for more than a decade.

A hand-written card from her two children placed in a single large white flower arrangement resting on the coffin read: "Beloved mother, always in our hearts".

Transferred to a gun carriage outside St Clement Danes Church, it was then escorted by hundreds of troops to St Paul's for the service.

The 1.5 ton carriage travelled at 70 steps per minute - its wheels changed from steel to rubber so that it ran more quietly along the road.

During the procession, a gun salute was fired at one-minute intervals from the Tower of London.

Among the three 105mm light guns operated by the Honourable Artillery Company were two used in the Falklands and last fired in anger at Goose Green and the final assault on Port Stanley.

(L-R) Lords Tebbit, Howe and Heseltine outside St Paul's

At St Paul's, the cortege was met by a guard of honour from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards on the steps which were lined by members of all three services and 16 Chelsea pensioners.

As crowds packing the pavements applauded warmly, a single half-muffled bell tolled before the 55-minute service began.

After the ceremony, Lady Thatcher's family and guests went to a reception in the City of London ahead of a private cremation. Her ashes will be interred at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Dozens of onlookers lined the street and applauded as the funeral cortege arrived at Mortlake Crematorium in south-west London.

Ahead of the funeral, David Cameron insisted that his predecessor had settled divisions by winning the big arguments - declaring: "In a way, we are all Thatcherites now."

He added: "She was the first woman prime minister, she served for longer in the job that anyone for 150 years, she achieved some extraordinary things in her life."

Outside St Paul's supporter John Loughrey, from Wandsworth, said: "She saved Britain. She gave my father the opportunity to buy his council house.

The gun carriage entering Fleet Street

"We had all sorts of problems and Mrs Thatcher put it all back together again. We needed the Iron Lady."

Margaret Kittle, 79, had travelled all the way from Canada to pay her respects and was in place on Tuesday to ensure a good view.

She said: "My family came to Churchill's and I wanted to come to Maggie's because they are the two greats of history. We will never see the likes of Mrs Thatcher again."

But student David Winslow, 22, was among the critics in the crowd.

"The message is that spending £10m on such a divisive figure in times of austerity, especially when austerity is being imposed on the poor, is wrong, especially when harm is being caused to the disabled and the NHS," he said.

There was also tension between supporters and protesters near the Royal Courts of Justice, where pensioner Phil Williams held a banner saying "Rest in Shame".

A 45-year-old protester called Helen, who was wearing a mask of Lady Thatcher's face, said: "I think it's really scandalous that we've spent all this money and time on her funeral. It just adds insult to injury.

"I think she ruined Britain's manufacturing industry, which is something the current Government are always harping on about.

"I think she started the culture of vilifying the poor and the disabled and I just think the current Government are following Thatcher's policies."

Protesters angry that taxpayers' paid for most of the funeral

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the cost of the funeral to the taxpayer would be "much, much less" than the £10m reported.

Many mining towns ignored the funeral but in Goldthorpe, an effigy of the former prime minister in a noose was paraded and residents plan to burn a coffin later.

One home in the town displayed a huge sign saying: "The Lady's not for turning but tonight she'll be for burning."

Meanwhile in Glasgow, a rally was being held to remember the "industries and communities who suffered" during her premiership.

Prominent left-winger Tommy Sheridan, who helped lead the protests against the poll tax in Scotland, will speak at the event.

However, in Lady Thatcher's hometown of Grantham, dozens gathered to watch the funeral and to pay their respects.

Christine Taylor, 66, said: "I think people forget the way Britain was before she came to power. They forget the winter of discontent."

The hearse passing by the gates of Downing Street

"I felt Mrs Thatcher was somebody who was going to stand up for people. I know she has been divisive but I think she was a great leader."

In Belfast, Unionists marked the funeral in the traditional fashion by flying the Union Flag at half-mast on the City Hall despite recent tensions over a vote to reduce the number of days it is flown.

But Sky's Ireland correspondent David Blevins said Republicans were preparing for evening protests.

On Falls Road in west Belfast, they will honour 14 IRA hunger strikers who died when Lady Thatcher refused to grant them political prisoner status in 1981.

By mid-afternoon, a small group of Republicans - around 50-75 people - had already started protesting at Free Derry Corner in Londonderry.

Ken Clarke, who held a series of senior roles in Lady Thatcher's Cabinets, dismissed people celebrating her death as "adolescents making silly points".

Of the funeral service, he said: "Being as objective as I can be, she was the first woman prime minister. She was the longest-serving prime minister in modern times.

"And she changed the country on a scale which no other prime minister came near. She was a huge national personality so I think it was entirely suitable."

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Measles Outbreak: Mass Vaccination Underway

By Isabel Webster, Correspondent

Mass vaccination has begun in schools in Swansea on a scale never seen before in South Wales as health officials try to put an end to the measles outbreak.

Some 5,000 children have been identified as at risk in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot and five schools in the area are offering immunisations over the next three days to try and halve that figure.

Rebecca Higgins, 14, was one of 20 students at Bishop Gore school to contract the virus and was one of the first to get the MMR jab today.

She said: "I've never been so ill in my life. I couldn't move or eat, I couldn't stand light and it was just horrendous. So, I wanted to get the jab ASAP - I never want to go through that again."

Sara Hayes, the Director of Public Health for Abertawe Bro Morganwg University Health Board said she's never known a measles epidemic like it in her career.

She said: "I don't think it's reached the peak yet - it still seems to be growing.

"I'm very concerned about that. We will see clusters of cases ongoing - it's a waiting game really - we just hope we're ahead of that with our vaccination programme."

Public Health Wales has recorded a 10% rise in cases of the virus since last week bringing the total number affected since the start of the outbreak in November to 765.

Of those, 77 have had to receive some form of hospital treatment.

The latest figures, which will be updated on Thursday, are expected to show another increase.

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