A HUSBAND returned home to find his wife collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, an inquest was told.

The hearing at Burnley Magistrates Court heard that Myra Bradshaw, 44, of Lowerhouse Lane, Padiham, had taken early retirement as a teacher in Rochdale because of stress.

She had started drinking two years ago but had recently made strenuous efforts to tackle the problem.

She was undergoing counselling and treatment, the hearing was told.

Her husband James told the inquest that he and his wife travelled to Manchester on May 29. They had lunch together and he left her at the bus station for her return journey to Padiham.

Mr Bradshaw arrived home at 7pm to find his wife collapsed at the foot of the stairs.

"She was semi-conscious," he said. "Her eyes were open but she seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness."

Mr Bradshaw said his wife had had medical problems with her feet since childhood and often complained about them. The condition made her unsteady.

An ambulance took Mrs Bradshaw to Burnley General where she died the same night.

The inquest was adjourned for a week. Home Office pathologist Dr William Lawlor, who performed a post mortem examination on Mrs Bradshaw, will give evidence on the cause of her death.

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