A mum-of-two who was finding it hard to cope after losing custody of her two children following a separation, died two months after suffering a horrific head injury following a fall and subsequent seizures.

Anna Ayre, who was just 43, and had been heavily reliant on alcohol for some time following her separation, died on January 27, two months after she fell and hit her head at home, the details of which she said she couldn't remember.

At an inquest in Accrington on Friday, Coroner Kate Bisset said doctors were unable to find a medical cause of death, and toxicology tests taken after a post-mortem also offered no cause.

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The coroner said: "A medical cause of death could not be found, so I don't have one.

"I have spent a long time reviewing how I might find an answer and I have asked for her medical records to be reviewed to see if an answer could be found there, but no-one has been able to do that, so I have to say that Anna's death was unascertained.

"However, I can and will record a narrative conclusion as this is a very unusual situation.

"Anna died on January 27. We know she had a fall in November 2021 and hit her head and then had a seizure, but it's not possible to determine what caused her death.

"There were no suspicious circumstances, and it wasn't suicide, which suggests it was a death by unknown means. 

"I want to offer her children some reassurance that this wasn't suicide, it was not someone doing wrong and it was not alcohol related. 

"We just simply do not know what it was that caused her death and I'm sorry I can't offer more answers. It's incredibly unusual."

The inquest was told that Anna had taken a fall at her home in Edgworth in November which had caused some severe trauma to her brain, forcing her to spend time in hospital and be referred to neuro-consultants.

She had also experienced seizures in the moments after the fall and on the way to the hospital in Bolton, before being transferred to Salford Royal - although she had no known history of epilepsy.

The injury had left her with severe headaches and doctors told her she wasn’t allowed to drive; they also wanted to keep her in hospital throughout December for observations.

However, Anna, who according to friends David Mapleston and Brian Cousins, who both attended the inquest, enjoyed her freedom and independence, wanted to be at home for her birthday on December 11 so told doctors she was fine and discharged herself.

The inquest heard that Anna had been drinking heavily in recent months and Mr Mapleston said there would often be empty bottles of vodka in her house, in Spring Vale in Edgworth; but upon leaving hospital in December, doctors insisted she should not drink any alcohol and advised her to take the medication given to her for her head injury.

On January 26, Anna was due to be meeting Mr Cousins, but when he went round to her house he couldn’t get an answer and neighbours told him they hadn’t seen her for about two days, so he left and went home.

Mr Cousins, who had only known Anna for a few weeks, said the following morning he woke up and still hadn’t heard from Anna, and became worried, so alerted the authorities.

Police were called to her home and Anna was found unresponsive in the house.

Mr Mapleston said: “She was battling with her own demons, and had been through a difficult ordeal with her break-up and not having access to her children.

“But she was just about to be given visitation rights and had got back in touch with the father of her kids.

“She always talked about her daughters, and she missed them so much. I think it was really hard for her being apart from them. They were her world.

“No-one knows how the fall happened, even she said she couldn’t remember much about it, only feeling confused when she came round in the hospital.”

Mr Cousins said although they will never have a precise answer as to how Anna, died, knowing it wasn’t suicide or alcohol related offered them some form of closure.

He said the 43-year-old, who liked walking, running and worked in finance, was a truly lovely person and will be very much missed.