MESSAGES of support have poured in for a student who fell into a coma after a brain haemorrhage.

Marina Rodrigues, 25, who studies at Colchester Institute, collapsed in her rented room at Margaret Road, Colchester, at 5am on March 22.

She managed to retain enough consciousness to crawl on to her landing and alert live-in landlord, Bev Phipps, 44, by banging on her bedroom door.

Paramedics rushed her to Colchester General Hospital and she was transferred to the specialist head injury unit at Queens Hospital, Romford, shortly after.

She has been unconscious ever since.

Mrs Phipps’s mother, Penny Clayton, said her daughter was in shock for a week after seeing her friend so critically ill.

She added: “Marina is such a lovely girl. She ran or cycled everywhere and was so slim and healthy.

“She had complained about headaches before, but people thought she was studying too hard.

“My daughter has been to visit a couple of times and has come back so upset. It’s not the Marina she remembers.”

Marina holds a European health insurance Card, but the cost of her treatment is likely to far exceed the basic care it offers.

Mrs Clayton said she hopes Marina’s story will inspire more students studying abroad to invest in Health insurance.

She added: “I just wish all colleges and universities would ensure that these students have the correct health insurance.

“With good luck they may never need it, but you never know what life has planned for you.”

Miss Rodrigues’s condition is said to be stable.

She helps teach Spanish at Philip Morant School and has lived in the country for less than a year.

Roger Abo-Henriksen, headteacher of Philip Morant, said: “We are upset to hear about Marina. Our thoughts are with her family and we hope she makes a full recovery.”

Danny Clough, principal of Colchester Institute, said: “We are sad to hear about Marina Rodriguez, and our thoughts and best wishes go out to her family.”

Her mother flew over from Spain that night to be by her daughter’s side and she has been given accommodation at a nearby Roman Catholic church.

Her family want her flown back to Spain, but said they cannot afford travel costs. Her mother has been living on donated food and clothing since arriving in the country and does not speak any English.