A CORONER pleaded for the death of a 21-year-old woman ‘not to be in vain’ as he issued a warning on the dangers of cocaine.

An inquest heard Penny Hargreaves, who had epilepsy, died in the days after taking cocaine during a party, but coroner Michael Singleton said he could not rule on whether the cause of her death was natural or drug-related.

The student nurse had left university after stress led to an increase in the number of seizures she had, the inquest at Blackburn Enterprise Centre was told.

Penny’s sister Hannah Hargreaves, who lived with her in Newington Avenue, Blackburn, said she had been diagnosed with epilepsy four years ago, took her medication regularly and would have one or two seizures a year, always when asleep, until university when they increased to two or three times a week.

The sisters had been out in Darwen on Saturday, October 1, and had a party.

Hannah said: “She was not a regular user. It was more on an impulse. It was not like she had an addiction. It was recreational use.”

The inquest heard she discovered Penny in her bed on Tuesday morning having not seen her since Sunday.

An acquaintance of Penny’s, Kevin Wilkinson, who was at the party told the coroner the group had bought around three grams of cocaine.

Recording an open conclusion Mr Singleton said there were ‘clearly two possibilities’ and it was known that both cocaine toxicity and epileptic seizures can lead to sudden unexpected death.

He said: “By any measure this is a very, very tragic death of a young girl who had her whole life in front of her.”

He said it was not for him to pass judgement but he found it ‘incredible that people would purchase something that toxic’.

“I have to say it absolutely blows me away that anybody would take something that has the potential to kill them,” he said.

“It is my fervent hope that out of this tragedy maybe these people that were there would reflect on this. “I do not want to be sat here conducting inquests into young people that have everything to live for simply because of what I consider to be crass stupidity. Please, please, please do not let Penny Hargreaves have died in vain.”