SPURNED lover Rosemarie Gregson died after taking a fatal cocktail of drugs - washed down with two bottles of wine.

An inquest heard that the 43-year-old grandmother had been exerting emotional and psychological blackmail on her estranged boyfriend James McInerney to try to bring about a reconciliation.

In a note left at his home, Mrs Gregson said she would take tablets if he did not contact her because that would show he did not care.

Mrs Gregson, of Winmarleigh Street, Blackburn, was found dead at her home by her son, Richard. He forced entry into her flat and found her lying on the living room floor. There were empty bottles and packets of tablets and two wine bottles.

Mr McInerney said he had known Mrs Gregson for two and a half years and for most of that time had been her boyfriend. They had fallen out and the last time he saw her was a week before her body was discovered.

He was not prepared to speak to her and had not responded to messages she had left on his mobile phone.

The last message he had received was on Good Friday and, when he returned home that night, there was a note from Mrs Gregson in his home. It said that she had taken some tablets of her's and some of his out of a cupboard.

The note added: "If you don't come or ring me tonight, I will take them because it means you do not care. I love you the world." Mr McInerney said Mrs Gregson had taken overdoses on previous occasions and he saw them as a cry for help and attention. "She said that if I left her life would not be worth living," said Mr McInerney.

Blood tests carried out as part of the post mortem examination revealed the presence of dothiepin, an anti depressant, at twice the normally fatal dose and atenolol at six times the normally fatal dose.

Pathologist John Rutherford said that either drug was present in sufficient quanity to cause death and the combination of the two and the presence of other prescribed drugs and alcohol could also have contributed.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, acting coroner Michael Singleton said he could not be satisfied that Mrs Gregson intended to take her own life.

"Previous overdoses were a cry for help and it seems there was some kind of psychological and emotional blackmail that was being brought to bear," said Mr Singleton.

"It seems unlikely she would appreciate the significance of the quantities of drugs she consumed."

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