Woman's vital organs demanded

Ms Gamble's body was found in a Menorca hotel

The vital organs of a woman who died in Spain have still not been sent back to the UK five months after her death.

Jacqueline Gamble's family have condemned Spanish health authorities saying that her heart, gall bladder and stomach were removed and retained without their permission.

They said they would never have known about the organs' removal if they had not asked for a second post mortem, after Ms Gamble's body was returned to the UK.

I'm still really angry about this, they shouldn't have removed her organs in the first place

Jacqueline Gamble's sister, Catherine

An inquest was due to take place into Ms Gamble's death on Thursday.

It was scheduled at Hitchin Coroners Court. Ms Gamble's died in May this year while she was on holiday in Menorca.

Despite support from the Queen and Tony Blair, along with their local MP, Ms Gamble's family are still waiting for the authorities in Spain to co-operate.

Her death was initially described by the Spanish authorities as suicide but it was later said that she had died because she had developed "water on the lungs".

However, the second post-mortem, revealed a preliminary finding that Ms Gamble had died from a brain haemorrhage.

Catherine, Ms Gamble's sister, said she was still "very angry" at the way the death was handled.

'Bungled embalming'

Speaking to BBC News Online from her home in Welwyn Garden City, she said: "As soon as we were told Jacqueline had committed suicide, we knew it could not be true.

"There was no way she would have done that, she had been saving up for the holiday to Menorca for a year."

Ms Gamble's friend Donna discovered the 28-year-old's body in her hotel room.

Catherine said her two brothers, John and Stephen, travelled to Menorca, after Ms Gamble's death.

She said: "At the time they asked the authorities to make sure Jacqueline's body was properly embalmed so her family could see her when she was brought home.

"But they didn't even get that right, and by the time she got home her body was so badly decomposed we simply couldn't see her."

Government investigation

She said authorities in Spain are still holding Ms Gamble's organs at the Institution of Toxicology in Seville.

"My dad has even signed a form agreeing to the fact we have been told that to get the organs back we will have to pay for them," she said.

"I'm still really angry about this - they shouldn't have removed her organs in the first place.

"And without the second post mortem in this country we would still know nothing about it."

The Foreign Office is currently investigating the case.