A mother with a long history of substance addiction and mental health issues was found dead in her home after taking too many drugs.

Nicola Leaver, 52, was found unresponsive at her home in Roebuck Close, Blackburn on February 15 2021 after a concern for welfare call was made to the police.

An inquest at Accrington Town Hall heard how officers forced entry to her maisonette flat to find her collapsed on the floor of her bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mrs Leaver, who had been engaging with Inspire for more than a decade due to opiate addiction, had been free from illicit drugs for a number of years but was on a daily prescription of methadone.

She had last spoken with her daughter, Gemma, on February 9, and her mobile phone had been inactive since that date, with police noting a number of missed calls and unread and unanswered messages on her phone.

This led her family to believe that Mrs Leaver had died some days before February 15, although the coroner said he could not provide a specific date as to when she actually passed away.

A toxicology report provided a cause of death as multi-drug toxicity after methadone, crack cocaine and pregabalin were found in her system.

The inquest heard evidence from two staff at Inspire, who said Mrs Leaver was coping really well on her prescription, and would regularly liaise with her key workers, giving them no cause for concern in terms of a drug relapse or her mental health.

Coroner Chris Long told the inquest: "Her death is a real tragedy, as it's quite clear there's a history of drug misuse but when she was struggling she sought help.

"In the reports from Inspire she was free from drugs, and when someone is free from drugs it makes their passing even more tragic.

"She died as a result of the drugs she had taken, and while the toxicology can't pinpoint which drugs caused her death, the combination of drugs would have contributed to her death.

"I'm not able to say which specific day she died but she more than likely died on February 9 or 10.

"So I conclude that Nicola Leaver was found at her home address on February 15 and died of a drug related death."