Two West African drums imported by a teacher have tested positive for anthrax, a fatal accident inquiry has heard.

Christopher 'Pascal' Norris, 50, an artist and woodworker from the Borders, died on July 8, 2006 a few days after attending a drumming workshop run by teacher Geraldine Keita in Kelso.

His death was the first death from anthrax in the UK in more than 30 years.

The FAI, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, heard that a dun dun and a djembe drum owned by drumming teacher Mrs Keita tested positive for anthrax.

The dun dun was used at a workshop in Kelso which Mr Norris attended on the Sunday before he died.

Asked whether Mr Norris played the instrument himself, Mrs Keita said she could not remember as he had his own drum with him that day.

He also attended a drumming class in Smailholm on Tuesday, July 4.

Mrs Keita, 34, told the inquiry that she had imported a number of drums from the Republic of Guinea, a country she visited in 2004.

Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen QC asked: "Did it ever cross your mind that there might be health risks regarding imports from that country?"

She replied: "I had not thought deeply about the specific risks associated with what I was doing."

Traces of anthrax have been found at a workshop belonging to a musician who died after contracting the disease.

Meanwhile, it is believed another man, Fernando Gomez, died in Homerton University Hospital, London, on November 2 after breathing in anthrax spores while using imported animal skins to make drums.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) staff carried out tests on the 35-year-old Spanish folk musician's workshop in Dalston Lane, Hackney, east London.

Samples were taken from the property on November 4 and tested at the HPA's laboratories in Porton Down. Test results confirmed anthrax was found on one of five drums in the property and also on some animal skins.

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