AN EDUCATIONAL advisor may have fallen into a fast-flowing river while trying to retrieve a canoe and plant pots during a heavy storm, an inquest heard.

Valerie Weston, 57, had only just received the all-clear from breast cancer, before her tragic fall into the River Irwell on March 30, Burnley Coroner’s Court.

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She had been sharing a glass of wine with friends shortly before her disappearance, ahead of a camping holiday to Shell Island in North Wales.

Mrs Weston, of Chapel Terrace, Irwell Vale, who worked for Lancashire County Council, was found by a police patrol on April 1, after her son Joseph had raised the alarm.

Her sister Janet Berkon (corr) said: “She was a very happy person who had lots of friends.

“Around 400 people turned up for her funeral.”

And her brother Neil Simms added: “She had just had an extension built which overlooked the river.

“She lived for her family and hosting gatherings there.”

He told the hearing that the family believed she had gone to retrieve the canoe or plant pots and had been swept off her feet by the elements.

The inquest heard that on the day of her death she had been giving lifts to her neighbour Margaret and her daughter Sandra Longworth.

Recording an accidental verdict, East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor said there was no question that the high winds had caused Mrs Weston’s fall.

“She seems to me to have been a most interesting person who had everything to live for, who was planning a trip the next day,” added Mr Taylor.

The inquest heard that Mrs Weston had begun her career teaching both history and PE before she became an educational advisor. Her role involved working with troubled 14 to 16-year-olds, offering support which may prevent their expulsion from schooling.

Her son Joseph Weston, who lived with his mother after returning home from travelling, said that his father had passed away after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Mr Weston said that she could often be ‘stubborn’ when it came to her own wellbeing and would not let tiredness, resulting from her condition, prevent her from being active.

The court was told that the son had become concerned for her welfare when the patio doors had been left open and he discovered she had not stayed at the neighbour’s overnight.