A WOMAN is appealing for help after her mum had a heart attack during a foreign cruise and is now stuck in Mexico with escalating hospital costs.

Anita King, from Great Sankey, has recently returned from the country after flying out to support her dad Tony and mum Valerie, from Liverpool.

The pair were on an American cruise when Valerie fell ill but the couple were not covered by their HSBC travel insurance as Valerie already had angina.

The 67-year-old grandmother may be able to travel by air ambulance to a UK hospital by the end of the week if her health improves but the cost has been estimated at £62,000.

Daughter Anita said: “My mum is still very ill and in intensive care.

“The hospital bill currently stands in excess of $126,000 and is rising daily by a minimum of $3,500.

“They are pressing for payment and the account manager followed us into a cafe after we had visited my mother to ask about settling the bill.

“We’re asking for HSBC to help us with some kind of cash flow because my dad will be ableto find the money but at the moment it’s tied up in bonds and shares.”

Mr King is currently trying to arrange a loan but does not want to leave his wife’s side.

A HSBC spokesman said: “We are very sorry to hear of the situation regarding Mrs King and we obviously hope that her health stabilises as soon as possible.

“We advised Mrs King that she would not be covered under her travel insurance policy for her pre-existing illness (angina) and wrote and confirmed this to her.

“In addition, we spoke to Mrs King on the telephone regarding the exclusions on her policy and actually advised her to speak to the British Heart Foundation to see if they could help her find cover.”

They added they had been in touch with Mr King in Mexico to see if they could offer ‘other forms of practical help and advice’.

Anyone who can help Anita and her family should e-mail anita@andalan.plus.com.