TV's Charlie Webster 'fighting for her life' in Rio

Webster has been diagnosed with a rare strain of malaria Credit: Charlie Webster/Twitter

TV sports presenter Charlie Webster, who studied at Newcastle University, is reportedly fighting for her life in a Brazilian hospital after contracting a rare strain of malaria on her way to cover the Olympics.

The 33-year-old is in a coma and on a life support in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's capital city, according to The Sun newspaper.

Webster cycled 3,000 miles from London's Olympic Stadium to Rio to raise funds for the Jane Tomlinson Foundation. However, she became unwell on 6th August, the day after the Opening Ceremony of the Games.

Previously she tweeted pictures of herself from her hospital bed, but now her condition is said to have worsened.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are providing support to a British woman who is in hospital in Rio".