A PENSIONER died when she developed deep vein thrombosis after a fall at an old people's home.

An inquest was told that Doris Vickers, a retired sewing machinist from Haslingden, fell at the Hilltop Home for the Elderly, in Manchester Road, Baxenden, last November.

She was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary with a fracture to the top of her thigh bone and had to have a plate fixed at her hip, where the break was.

Mrs Vickers, who suffered from brittle bones, was said to be recovering well from the operation and was ready to be discharged when she suddenly collapsed and died on November 22 -- a week before her 86th birthday.

Coroner Michael Singleton said deep vein thrombosis often occured in patients who were immobilised after such operations and likened it to so-called 'economy class syndrome' occurring on long-haul flights in cramped conditions.

He gave the cause of death as deep vein thrombosis following the immobilisation of Mrs Vickers due to a fractured femur. He recorded a verdict of accidental death.