THE family of grandmother Danielle Carr-Gomm, who died in Seend apparently after receiving alternative health treatment which included hard slapping, have paid tribute to her.

Police were called to Cleeve House in the early hours of October 20 following the sudden death of Mrs Carr-Gomm, 71, of Lewes, East Sussex.

Ms Carr-Gomm was taking part in a week-long self-healing workshop run by Chinese healer Hongchi Xiao where participants paid up to £750 to 'have toxins removed from the body' through hard, repeated slapping. Other methods as part of the treatment include fasting for days.

She was apparently was found dead at 19th century Cleeve House at Seend, near Devizes, by a fellow workshop attendee who she was sharing a room with.

Three people - a 64-year-old woman, a 51-year-old man and a 53-year-old man – have all been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and have since been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Police said the results of a post-mortem examination had proved inconclusive and further tests were being carried out. An inquest into the death was opened and adjourned last week.

Ms Carr-Gomm, who was born in Issenheim, in the Alsace region of France, in September 1945, came to the UK when she was 21.

Her son, Matthew Carr-Gomm who lives in New Zealand, said: “As a family, I remember we always had amazing holidays, visiting Peru and Sri Lanka amongst many other places, including Bulgaria, where we made many friends and visited several times a year.

“Mum was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999 and was very ill at the time. She began taking insulin that year and documented this ever since. She had a lifelong fear of needles so she struggled with the diagnosis and initially took a course of tablets instead.

“She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes and was very interested in alternative and holistic medicine and therapies.

“I know she was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease. She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life.

“In recent years, mum was in a great place with a partner, a lovely home, and was travelling the world. She had a lot of life left in her.

“Her death has come as a huge shock to us all and we are grateful of the support we have received from Wiltshire Police and the kind messages we have received from family and friends at this really difficult time.

“We would like to kindly ask that any media please now leave us to grieve in peace and allow us some time to remember the many happy moments we shared with mum.”