AN ELDERLY Blackpool woman who died after drinking a Christmas present of creme bath had a "long history" of psychiatric problems, an inquest heard.

Ada Barbara Dare, 88, died on Christmas Day after drinking creme bath at Devonshire Road Hospital, where she had been admitted from Westfield Rest Home, Westfield Road, Blackpool.

At the inquest in Blackpool Town Hall on March 12, witnesses described how the pensioner was sick after drinking the creme bath at around 2.30pm. Her eyes began to roll and her tongue came out before she was sick again and became unconscious.

Staff and paramedics tried to revive her and she was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital's accident and emergency department, but she was declared dead.

Consultant pathologist Dr Mark Sissons told the inquest he had found "a large amount of creamy fluid" in her lungs and more in her stomach during the post mortem. It appeared she had breathed in the creme bath while being sick and this had caused her death, he said.

The pensioner was given the creme bath as a Christmas present. It was one of several presents given to patients on Christmas Day, the inquest heard.

The presents were marked "male" and "female" and were given out at random by staff. But while presents were still being given out staff noticed Mrs Dare had opened her present, which was creme bath, and drunk some of it.

Witness Fiona Maddison, staff nurse on duty at the time of the accident, said Barbara Dare was admitted to Devonshire Road Hospital in October 2001 -- her second time there.

"She had been resident at the nursing home and her behaviour had become difficult to manage and the staff felt that she needed further admission for assessment," she said.

"She was on a fair amount of medication. She had a long psychiatric history so her behaviour was not that unexpected. She was a psychiatric patient but she had a lot of medical problems as well."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Fylde Coroner Samuel Lee said: "It is obviously a very, very welcome practice of the staff at the hospital on Christmas Day to give presents to the patients from a fund which has been raised by the staff and that is very commendable."

It was by chance that the pensioner had received creme bath, he said. "She might have been given chocolates. Unfortunately she must have believed in her befuddled state that this was something that could be drunk.

"From the moment she took that gulp of bubble bath my judgement is that effectively she was dying, there was nothing whatsoever that could have been done to save her."

He added: "Curiously this is the second death which has occurred in this particular way over the Christmas period. It is a remarkable coincidence but it is not something which makes me any less sure about the verdict in this particular case."