An inquest has opened into the death of an elderly woman who died in hospital after a fall.

Muriel Whitelaw, 79, a retired office manager, of Queen's Lodge Nursing Home, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, was admitted to hospital on December 24 after falling and breaking her hip, the hearing was told.

Mrs Whitelaw, who suffered from osteoperosis, underwent a hip operation on December 26, but her condition worsened and she died on December 28, the hearing heard.

A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as a fractured femur and the effects of heart disease.

The inquest was adjourned to March 15.