A TEENAGE girl collapsed and died suddenly from a suspected food allergy attack after spending an evening out with friends.

Francesca Sanna, 19, known to friends and family as Mimmy, developed breathing problems while in Oswaldtwistle on Saturday evening.

The three friends she was with were able to get her back to her Fieldings Lane home and called an ambulance.

She was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital at 9.43pm but died shortly afterwards.

Her family, who own Franco's restaurant in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, have paid tribute to a beautiful and vibrant' girl who had a passion for music and shopping.

Francesca had suffered from food allergies from an early age and also had asthma. The family said they believe she may have gone into anaphylactic shock after eating something that triggered a reaction.

The former Rhyddings High pupil spent three years working as a waitress in the family restaurant, which her father Franco has run for the past 23 years.

She then went on to get an office job at Blackburn Chemicals and had been studying for her AAT accountancy qualifications on day release at Blackburn College.

Her mother Kim, 48, said: "She was a delight to have as a daughter. We lived above the restaurant for the first three years after Francesca was born and it was a big part of her life. She was well-known by the customers who came in and had so many friends in the wider community. Everybody loved her."

The restaurant has been closed until further notice as a mark of respect.

Francesca was a fan of music, playing the steel pans while at high school and also succeeded at clog dancing.

Mrs Sanna added: "She had just bought a new Suzuki car after getting a bonus at work and was really excited about putting on the personalised plates that her grandfather had bought her for her 18th birthday.

"The car is just sitting on the drive way now. It is so awful. It is such a shock to us."

Francesca's nickname came from the character the Marvellous Magnificent Mad Madame Mim in the Disney film, The Sword in the Stone, which the family watched together when she was younger.

Her brother Domenico, 22, said: "She was a fantastic sister and a wonderful Aunty Mimmy to her five-year-old nephew Aidan. She was beautiful and vibrant.We are all absolutely devastated at what has happened."

A post mortem examination and inquest are due to take place to establish the exact cause of death.