A CORONER has issued a summer booze warning to people who go to parties and barbecues following the death of woman who fell downstairs after a drinking session.

Andre Rebello gave the warning after hearing of a party in Darwen where the only sober person to witness a woman's death fall was a four-year-old girl.

Mr Rebello slammed the situation as "quite outrageous" and condemned the other partygoers who attended the inquest and admitted to him they had been too drunk to know what was going on.

Mr Rebello said: "Clearly the adults present appeared to have lost all control of their sense. And it is perhaps fortuitous for the inquest and the family that this four-year-old girl was present."

But he said if children were present at parties at least one adult should remain sober and he warned: "It is a criminal offence to be in charge of a child while drunk." Mr Rebello added: "Most people like a drink and no-one wants to stop people enjoying themselves. But for a party to get to the stage where no-one other than a four-year-old girl can recall what happened is quite outrageous."

The inquest in Blackburn was told about eight people were at the house in Lower Cross Street during the after noon of April 6 when Katherine Grace Thomson, 31, fell from the top to the bottom of the stairs watched by the little girl, referred to only as Sophie.

Detective Sergeant Rob Campbell, who investigated the death, read out an interview conducted by Detective Constable Dawn Flewitt, an officer specially trained to interview children.

Sophie described standing at the bottom of the stairs and seeing the woman fall

. The child added that no-one else was on the stairs at the time.

Mr Rebello said: "Thank God she missed Sophie or we might be having a joint inquest here." Paramedic Christopher Fraser-Clark described finding Miss Thomson, of Hindle Street, Darwen, lying in the entrance to the kitchen.

She was given emergency first aid before being taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary, then to the Royal Preston Hospital.

The inquest was told her life support system was turned off two days later.

Pathologist Dr John Rutherford put the cause of death as head injuries.

Partygoer Ian Coughlin, of Ash Grove, Darwen, said he and the others were in the living room sitting on two settees when he heard a thud and a rumble and realised Kath had fallen down the stairs but admitted he had not even noticed her leave the room.

Andy Martin, of Lower Cross Street, said: "Everybody had been drinking. They were quite inebriated."

Kath's brother, Mr William Thomson, who had travelled from Kendal, said his sister was estranged from the rest of the family because of her drink and drugs habits and he had not seen her for two years.

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