A WOMAN died after taking a lethal mixture of drugs and alcohol, an inquest heard.

Jean McGuire, 41, of Ferndale Street, Burnley, was found dead at her home last October after drinking a bottle of gin and taking a high dose of sleeping pills.

Janet McGuire, also of Ferndale Street, Burnley, told the inquest at a previous hearing how she called the ambulance the morning after putting her sister to bed when she could not wake her.

She said she had helped her sister into bed the night before her death after finding she had fallen into an empty bath.

PC Simon Butterworth told the inquest he removed a shopping bag full of medication from the property on the day of Miss McGuire's death.

Burnley coroner David Smith recorded a verdict of misadventure and said: "There was no evidence to say she intended to take her own life. She took the tablets at levels which would not have killed her but she took alcohol at the same time which resulted in her death." A post-mortem examination did not reveal a natural cause of death but toxicology findings showed Miss McGuire had an excessive amount of alcohol and sleeping pills in her system at the time of her death.

Pathologist, Doctor Abdul Al-Dawoud said: "Both the alcohol and pills taken together destroyed her system which resulted in her death."

Janet McGuire told the inquest that last October that Jean had had many medical problems, drank a lot and was prescribed medication which she did not always take.