Don't go for cheaper jabs ...we beg you

Beautician gave mother £20 injection days before. Alarming rise in dodgy doses, warn campaigners

- BY LUCY THORNTON

GRIEVING daughters say their mum "just wanted her old self back" when she opted for a black market weight loss jab - only to die in agony a few days later.

Now Abbie and Ffion McGonigal are urging others not to make the same mistake as Karen.

The 53-year-old died in May after being allegedly illegally injected with semaglutide.

Five months after losing their mum, the sisters have chosen to speak out to warn others of the dangers. Ffion said she would "beg on hands and knees" for others not to risk it.

Abbie told ITV News: "If this saves another person going through what we feel - then we've done enough. The outcome is devastating. It's heartbreaking and it's really, really not worth it."

In the months before her death, Karen had been struggling with her mental health and was desperate to lose weight.

Her daughters said her self-esteem suffered when a long-term relationship ended, and she felt that being overweight was "ruining her life".

Abbie said: "She didn't feel happy in herself, she didn't want to go out anywhere.

"I think she just wanted her old self back."

Karen visited her GP, where she had tests to see if she would be eligible for Mounjaro, a trade name of the weight loss drug tirzepatide.

But she was unable to get the drug on the NHS, which has strict guidelines for prescriptions.

Instead, she was told by friends the drug was available to buy at a local beauty salon.