AN URMSTON woman plagued by ill health since her teens was found slumped dead in her lounge by police.

Tuesday’s inquest in to the sudden death of Yvonne Byrne heard when officers broke down the door of the 58-year-old’s Whitelake View bungalow on September 24 she was found slumped on a sofa with her face resting in a tub of butter.

Ms Byrne, a qualified teacher who no longer worked because of ill health, had a history of mental illness dating back to her teens, including anorexia, and had been a regular patient at the Moorside Unit at Trafford General. She was also suffering from severe emphysema due to her 50-a-day cigarette habit.

Giving evidence to deputy coroner Joanne Kearsley, GP Ian McClean from Urmston Group Practice told the inquest Ms Byrne had been taking a number of powerful drugs to counter her health problems, including a variety of psycotropic medicines to control her mood, as well as a morphine based painkiller oxycodon to alleviate pain from severe arthritis.

Despite the inquest hearing Ms Byrne, who was childless and lived alone, had once previously attempted suicide, coroner Ms Kearsley recorded a narrative verdict after hearing from pathologist Dr Alan Padwell it was likely her weak lungs had not been able to cope with the level of oxycodon, whose depressive effect on the central nervous system would have been magnified by the other drugs she was taking.

“The oxycodon level (in her blood) was high,” said Dr Padwell. “Other drugs were at normal (therapeutic) levels but they all added together to make it a bit worse, and she had severe lung disease. Without the lung disease it may have been different,” he said.

Coroner Ms Kearsley added: “I’m going to record a short narrative verdict as she died from both the medication and natural causes.”