THE mystery of why a Leigh mother-of-two plunged to her death from the fifth floor of a Benidorm hotel may never be solved, an inquest was told.

Janet Collier, 40, of South Avenue, died after falling from the balcony of the room she was sharing with two friends at the Hotel Monaco.

Before recording a verdict at Leigh that Miss Collier died on October 3, 1999 "as a result of an accident", coroner Mr Aidan Cotter said that the information he had been provided with was "totally inadequate" in spite of repeated requests for more details from the Spanish authorities.

Miss Collier's mother, Doreen Collier, told the inquest that her daughter had been to Benidorm earlier in 1999 and enjoyed it so much she decided to return.

She rang her mother to say she had fallen, banged her head and hurt her back.

Mrs Collier said: "She phoned one more time and said she was much better and was going shopping get me my birthday present."

Miss Collier had gone on holiday with two of her friends Christine Pitchford, 47, of Waterview Park, Leigh and Lynne West, 39.

Lynne West described how Miss Collier had an accident before her death, falling and banging her head.

She said: "She was looking through a window, she turned, her eyes were glazed over and she fell and banged her head. She was having a fit. Her eyes were rolling and she was shaking. I turned her over on her side and ran downstairs to reception."

She estimated the fit lasted five minutes and a doctor attended. She said the fall left Janet with a painful back and head. Shortly before her death she had opted to stay in because the soreness had dampened her enthusiasm.

Christine Pitchford said on the night of the death the trio went to the hotel bar where Miss Collier drank two Cokes but decided to go back to the hotel room while the other two went out.

When they returned in the early hours they found their room locked. They obtained a spare key from reception but they could not open the door.

They went back downstairs where the receptionist told them "she's gone -- she's fallen". Police forced the hotel room door which had been locked from the inside.

Miss Collier was found on the ground. Pathologist Dr Iqbal Singh Dhersi said a post-mortem examination had already been conducted elsewhere and he agreed with Spanish findings. Cause of death was multiple injuries consistent with a fall from a height. The inquest heard that hotel receptionist Jose Gonzalez had seen her fall.

The coroner said compared to British standards the police report was very limited, without statements and without photographs. He said repeated requests for more information had been ignored.

He said: "I have had no response at all. It is unsatisfactory and has taken a lot of time even to reach this stage. In my experience this is not unusual. We just don't have enough information."

The Spanish report suggested Janet had suffered a "violent death, probably by suicide".

But coroner Mr Cotter said: "That is a suggestion of which there is no evidence at all. On the evidence before me there is no possible justification that she took her own life.

"It seems to be at least highly probable she was on the balcony and had a fainting fit and fell. I would like to have had a picture from the Spanish authorities of that balcony but there is no realistic chance of getting that information -- but it's not for lack of trying."