A woman in grief has told of the shock she felt when a terrifying infection killed her robust and healthy husband within just three hours, The Mirror reports.

Pete Hynes, 40, went to bed on a Saturday morning in December 2022 after a sudden earache, which he attributed to a cold that other family members were suffering from.

But seconds later he lost consciousness.

An ambulance took him to a local hospital, where tests showed he had a deadly bacterial infection called meningococcal meningitis.

In this disease, deadly bacteria called neisseria meningitidis infect the membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.

The disease progresses rapidly, as the virus soon enters the bloodstream and damages the walls of blood vessels, causing bleeding into the skin and organs. This often leads to life-threatening sepsis.

Despite doctors’ efforts to save the father of three, Pete Hynes died within three hours.

They had no idea that their lives would change forever from that day, said his wife, Lou Hynes, 48.