A MIDWIFE who had been left distressed by the New York tragedy hanged herself two days after the September 11 atrocity.

A coroner said that Mary Kelly, 58, was yet another victim of the events in America that had sent shock waves around the world and touched the lives of millions.

An inquest heard that Mrs Kelly, of Belmont, a midwife at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, had feared the onset of World War Three and had been deeply distressed by images of people jumping from the blazing World Trade Centre towers.

Her husband John, a lecturer, told how a stupid comment made by him had deeply offended his wife and led to an argument.

He said: "She was very upset and I stupidly made a remark which, in retrospect, was unforgivable.

"I said that at least we would be able to get cheap flights to America to visit her sister and that led to a disagreement."

Recording a verdict that Mrs Kelly had killed herself, coroner Michael Singleton said it had been a great tragedy.

He said: "It seems to me that Mary Kelly is yet another victim of the events of September 11.

"It is astonishing to think how the shock waves of those events passed around the world and touched many people.

"Mary Kelly may have been touched at a time when she was a little vulnerable.

"She was affected more because of the state of mind that she was in."

Mr Kelly told the inquest that his wife was a deep thinker who sometimes worried too much.

In the aftermath of September 11 she had expressed "concern for future world peace" and on September 12 had been sitting in the kitchen drinking wine and watching television.

He said: "Mary was very upset about the catastrophe in New York and saddened by the loss of life.

"She was worried about the consequences and was extremely distressed by the picture in the newspapers of people jumping from one of the towers.

"We talked about what we would do faced with those circumstances -- stay and be engulfed by flames or jump -- and we both said we would jump."

Mr Kelly said that the next night his wife of 32 years had gone out with a friend and he had said he would be in bed when she returned.

Because of his wife's shift work as a midwife he said it was not unusual for her to stay up reading or watching television and she would often sleep in the spare room to avoid waking him.

When he got up on September 13, Mr Kelly looked in the spare room but it was empty.

He went downstairs and when he looked out of the kitchen window saw his wife hanging by a grey scarf from a small tree.

He said his wife was a pessimist who "always thought the bottle was three quarters empty."

She was due to retire in January and was worried whether they would be financially secure.

Mr Kelly said they had decided to sell their house to release some capital and Mrs Kelly had been concerned that it was not worth the valuation.

He said: "She worried about getting old and had a low opinion of herself

"She thought she was not an attractive person but in fact she was a very attractive person."

Ms Pamela Simon, an independent staff counsellor for the Hospital Trust, said she had seen Mrs Kelly in February and March but had subsequently shredded her notes, as she did with every client.

She said that, had there been any ongoing problems, she would have continued to see Mrs Kelly but that had not been the case.

The medical cause of death was given as hanging.

After the September 11 atrocities, Blackburn Samaritans reported they had seen an increase in the number of calls from people distressed about the events but these declined as the weeks went on.