MS sufferer died of pills overdose

An inquest was told how Patricia Hall, 42, had attempted suicide on at last two "major occasions," before - but could have taken too many tablets on the third occasion because she was in so much pain.

Miss Hall, the mother of a young daughter, was found dead at her home on Tunstill Street, Burnley, in front of the living room fire by a friend on March 22.

Her former husband Roy Oates of Green Street, Burnley, described how Miss Hall's life was a "constant battle," she was having difficulty walking and had earlier told him her condition could not be controlled any more.

Recording an open verdict, East Lancs Coroner David Smith said he could not be sure whether Miss Hall took the overdose because she was in a lot of pain or because she had had enough of the sort of life she had been living.

Pathologist Dr Walid Salman had told the hearing Miss Hall died from an overdose of pain killers. She had a quite extensive third degree burn on her right thigh.

In a statement, her friend Susan Carter said Miss Hall had tried to take overdoses on several occasions, she would check on her to make sure she was all right and pick her up off the floor when she had been drinking heavily.

On March 20, Miss Hall told her she had taken an overdose, but she was talking normally and Miss Carter was not concerned as she had told her that before.

Miss Carter said she went home, began thinking about what her friend had said and went back at 9pm. Miss Hall seemed perfectly all right and there was no mention of overdoses. The visit reassured her.

The next day, at about 3pm, she went to Miss Hall's home but got no reply.

She looked through the letter box and saw her lying on the floor in front of the fire. She normally slept there to keep warm, so Miss Carter thought she was just asleep.

The next morning, at 9am, she saw Miss Hall in the same position, realised something was wrong and an ambulance was called.