A Bovingdon woman whose body was found at her home died of natural causes despite telling doctors she was considering taking her own life, a coroner has concluded.

Christine Daniels, 71, was found on the bedroom floor at her Balfour Mews home on May 28, several hours after her death by a neighbour who had grown concerned when she didn’t answer the phone.

Although she had been receiving treatment for depression over several years and was known to have discussed suicide in the past, her autopsy uncovered no evidence of unnatural causes.

During the inquest at Hatfield Coroner’s Court on Tuesday (August 14), coroner Edward Thomas heard from her GP Dr Anil Raj who had met with her several times in the months before her death.

He said he had grown to like her and she had visited his surgery several times in the months before her death and was shocked to learn of her death.

He said: "The main concern I had was making sure she wasn’t actively suicidal, she was very tearful but didn’t meet the medical criteria for sectioning.

"In April, she admitted her drinking was an issue and she wanted to stop it. She liked her bridge so I tried to encourage that as an activity.

"When I first got in touch with her it was quite overwhelming but I actually grew to like her because we developed a good relationship and she was nice to get on with.

"When I heard she had died it was shocking."

Dr Raj revealed she had been taking medication for headaches, medication to prevent stomach upset, a muscle relaxant and an anti-depressant and she had also sought help for her alcohol addiction.

However, a toxicology report found no trace of any of these in her body at the time of her death.

A statement from PC Jon Onyan, the first officer on the scene, revealed the police had initially suspected the death was caused by suicide due to the discovery of an open bottle of pills beside her and five pages of note paper with instructions left on the coffee table.

Addressing Barbra Burford, a close friend of the deceased, Mr Thomas said: "She was depressed [at the time of her death] but that was not unusual, she had been very unhappy with her life and was locked in the past.

"You felt she drunk to excess because she couldn’t cope with what happened to her.

"She said she had gained strength from you and clearly you did a lot for her. It is difficult and I imagine she appreciated it even if she didn’t show it."

Mr Thomas concluded Ms Daniels’ death was a result of cardio-respiratory failure which could have been brought on by alcoholic liver disease or hypertensive heart disease.

Before closing the inquest the coroner praised Dr Raj for the work he had done to help Ms Daniels, before saying: "There was nothing unnatural about her death and in this case I record she died of natural causes."