A LANDMARK legal action involving the fiance of a Newport woman who died of deep vein thrombosis was dramatically halted yesterday.

Emma Christoffersen, 28, died from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after a long haul flight from Australia two years ago.

Her fiance Tim Stuart, of Llanmartin, was challenging, along with 56 others, the Warsaw Convention which states that the families of victims can only claim compensation if their death was an accident, and at the moment the condition of deep vein thrombosis is not seen as an accident.

But the trial at the High Court in London had to be halted after it was discovered last night that the presiding judge was a British Airways shareholder.

It was revealed that he owned £1,450 worth of British Airways shares, which he sold yesterday morning.

Mr Justice Nelson added: "I very much regret not appreciating this matter earlier.

"It plainly should have been raised earlier rather than at the beginning of the second day of trial."

He added that in his view being a shareholder would not affect his judgment in any way in the case being brought against the airlines. The judge said it had only occurred to him yesterday when he read of BA's interim results in a newspaper that he might be a shareholder in the airline, which is one of 27 international carriers involved in the case.

Last night, Emma's mother Ruth Christoffersen said: "We are bitterly disappointed. We have taken two years to get here and now it has been halted by something like this."

Mr Justice Nelson said so far he had received no application to disqualify him, but felt constrained to adjourn the case until November 18.