A TEENAGE girl collapsed and died just minutes after colouring her hair.
Tabatha McCourt, 17, is believed to have suffered an allergic reaction to a chemical in the dye.
She is thought to be only the second person in the past decade to die from such a reaction.
The pretty North Lanarkshire teenager was settling down to watch the X Factor at a friend’s house when the reaction started.
She started vomiting and fitting and had to be held down before frantic friends gave her CPR.
She was rushed to hospital, where she later died.
Frantic
Her friend Heather Goodall said: “Tabatha was always dying her hair different colours. The dye had only been in around 20 minutes when she got up and went to the bathroom.
“She came back a couple of minutes later, she sat down and then frantically started pulling foils from her hair.
“She started shouting ‘no, no’ and my mum’s boyfriend held her and tried to calm her down.
“It was really scary. Her eyes started going all funny and then she just started being sick.
“It was really frightening. She looked just like a rag doll, limp, just lying there.
“We phoned for the ambulance and when they arrived they told us to get out of the living room so I couldn’t see what was happening.
“The next thing we new she was being taken out of the house and into the ambulance.”
Tabatha was taken to Monklands General Hospital, Lanarkshire, following the incident before 10.30pm on Saturday night, but doctors were unable to save her.
Heather added: “It all seems like it’s not real. We were best pals for two years.
Shock
“Tabatha was a great friend, so generous and full of life, always hyper and bubbly. She had the biggest heart and was a really lovely person.
“We were planning to have a joint 18th birthday party next year. I can’t believe she is gone.”
Heather’s mother Carol, 43, added: “Tabatha was always over here, especially at weekends.
“They were great friends. It’s such a shock to everyone.”
Tabatha lived with her mum Margaret-Ann, dad Peter and sisters Tiffany, 15 and Jasmine, 11.
Last night Margaret-Ann said: “We are still all in shock by what happened and ask to be left alone to grieve.”
Today tributes flooded the internet. A facebook group dedicated to the teenager attracted hundreds of followers, while several photo slideshows were posted on the video-sharing site YouTube.
Police said they were treating the death as ‘unexplained’ and an investigation has begun.
