A BURNLEY mum died after overdosing on a ‘toxic’ combination of drugs, an inquest heard.

Deborah Moss, 41, was discovered dead by a neighbour at her home in Hunslet Street on September 17 last year.

Burnley Coroner’s Court heard how she was given just six months to live last February because of serious problems with her liver and kidneys.

East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor said Ms Moss had battled alcoholism.

And was supposed to attend the substance misuse service Inspire.

Six weeks before her death, the service stopped prescribing Ms Moss with the heroin substitute methadone because of her repeated drinking and ‘lack of engagement’.

It had previously reduced her dosage from 60 to 40 milligrammes per day.

But Dr Abdul Al-Dawoud, who carried out Ms Moss’s post-mortem examination, said he found a ‘high level’ of methadone in her blood, along with the painkiller codeine. Addressing him, Ms Moss’s sister, Julie Smithies, said: “At the time there were rumours that she had cuts on her face when she died.

“We want to know if she was hurt before she died.”

The doctor replied: “I did not see any.

“The police investigated very thoroughly at the time. There is no evidence of any external injuries at all.”

Dr Al-Dawoud said Ms Moss’s alcoholism had left her with a ‘very cirrhotic liver’ which had caused ‘extensive bleeding’ in her stomach.

He added: “The toxic effect of methadone and codeine was the primary cause of death.”

Concluding that Ms Moss had suffered a drug-related death, Mr Taylor said: “These cases are always extremely sad, someone as young as she was taken away by drugs.

“Unfortunately she was unable to go to Inspire as much as she maybe should have.”