A CARE home has been fined £10,000 after an 81-year-old resident fell out of a lounge window and died the next day.

Longfield Care Homes Limited was also ordered to pay £5,000 costs after pleading guilty to failing to ensure that Jessie Hall was not exposed to safety risks.

Mrs Hall fractured her pelvis and elbow after falling 3.5 metres from the window on to a concrete patio at Longfield Home for the Elderly, Preston New Road, Blackburn, on April 16, 2003.

The next day, she died due to bronchial pneumonia which, an inquest heard, was slightly accelerated by the fall.

An inquest jury last year ruled that the fall and neglect by the care home had contributed towards her death.

But on Friday, Hyndburn Magistrates said neglect was not a factor in her death.

They still issued a fine, however, because they ruled that procedures were not in place which could have prevented the accident.

The court heard that window restrictors had been fitted to the care home in 1998, but, for an unknown reason, were not present on the lounge windows at the time of Mrs Hall's fall.

Longfield Care Homes Limited told the court that the devices' removal must have been accidental, but accepted no regular checks had been made to ensure the restrictors remained in place.

The court heard that the window had been opened about 12 inches and that Mrs Hall, who suffered from dementia, was seen with her head out of the window. Magistrates were told that she was asked to come back in, but fell out shortly afterwards.

Longfield Care Homes Limited had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on December 9.

Magistrates, issuing their judgement, said: "She was a resident in a successful and caring environment.

"However procedures were not in place which might have prevented the accident and we also note that it was known that Mrs Hall had a history of attempting to leave the care home. Had there been a proper risk assessment this might not have happened."

The court heard that the company was likely to appeal against the sentence.

The prosecution under health and safety legislation was brought by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.