AN 18-year-old girl was found dead in her bed just hours after she had been "shouting and screaming" at a televised football match, an inquest heard.

The hearing was told that Emma Louise Woodruff, of Glenfield Close, Blackburn, was discovered by her mother, who believed she had suffered an epileptic seizure.

But a post mortem examination revealed no evidence of epilepsy.

And pathologist Dr Richard Prescott said he had been unable to ascertain a medical cause of death.

The inquest heard Emma, who was studying for her final exams at St Mary's College, Blackburn, had been diagnosed with dyspraxia when she was younger after her mother Cheryl noticed her clumsiness.

Dyspraxia is an impairment of movement. It is an immaturity in how the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted.

While doctors were treating that complaint, they discovered she was suffering from chronic auto-immune hepatitis and she was successfully treated with steroids and other drugs for a number of years, the inquest was told.

Mrs Woodruff said her daughter had about four of what she described as night seizures since she was 16.

But Dr John Benson, a consultant paediatrician at Blackburn Royal Infirmary, said Emma had undergone two "brainwave" or EEG tests and neither had shown any signs of epilepsy.

The medical cause of death was given as unascertained and deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said even if it had been sudden death in epilepsy the verdict would still have been one of natural causes.