A WOMAN who fell down the stairs at her Ramsbottom home died accidently, a coroner has concluded.

Michelle Howard, known to friends and loved ones as Shelly, died in Fairfield Hospital after the fall on February 27, 2009.

At an inquest at Rochdale Coroner's Court today, coroner Simon Nelson recorded a verdict of accidental death after consultant pathologist Dr Naomi Carter said she had died as a result of head injuries.

Ms Howard, aged 53, was born in Ramsbottom and her maiden name was Brown.

She studied at Hazlehurst Primary School and Tottington High School and left school aged 16.

Afterwards, she had jobs at Boots and as a redcoat as Butlins in Blackpool.

Ms Howard got married aged 18 and gave birth to her son, Lee, in 1979.

She was divorced and married again in about 1992, but that relationship did not last, the court heard, although she kept the surname.

According to evidence given by Stuart Leach, aged 23, he met Ms Howard at a local pub around December 2008 and their relationship became sexual.

The court heard how, at about 6pm on February 28, Ms Howard, was alone at her home in Regent Street when Mr Leach arrived.

Mr Leach, of Carrwood Hey, Ramsbottom, said they sat together watching an England v Ireland rugby union game until just before 7pm.

The coroner was told that Mr Leach went upstairs and into the bathroom.

A minute or so later, Ms Howard also went upstairs, opened the bathroom door and, upon seeing Mr Leach, she said "oops, sorry" and closed the door.

In police interviews read to the court, Mr Leach described hearing two or three thuds.

He then shouted out Ms Howard's name many times and, when he heard no reply, he left the bathroom.

Mr Leach saw the woman's body at the bottom of the stairs and ran to her aid.

She was unconscious but breathing.

He propped her head up with cushions and checked she had not swallowed her tongue, the inquest heard.

Realising he had no battery on his mobile phone, Mr Leach drove to his parents' house and returned with them to the scene. He said it took two minutes for him to drive to his parents' house and two minutes for his mum to drive him back after he had explained what had happened.

Paramedics attended and took Ms Howard to Fairfield Hospital where she died on March 1.

A postmortem examination revealed Ms Howard had 192mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The legal drink drive limit is 80mg.

Police arrested and questioned Mr Leach, but took no further action against him after concluding there was no evidence of third-party involvement in Ms Howard's death.

At the inquest, Ms Howard's sister, Sandra Brown, aged 51, of Bolton Road West, Ramsbottom, said: "As a family we are not completely satisfied that we will ever know exactly what happened at Michelle's house.

"As a result, we cannot be totally sure that her death was a result of an accident. We would respectfully request that the coroner considers an open verdict, please."

Mr Nelson said: "The actions Mr Leach took on the night in question in seeking assistance from his parents and by accompanying Ms Howard to hospital, by helping police and by attending today are, in my view, consistent.

"The amount of alcohol she had consumed would have caused her to become unsteady on her feet. My belief is that Ms Howard lost her balance and accidently fell down the stairs."

Mr Nelson added: "She was quite a remarkable lady in that she was able to work industriously throughout the entirity of her life and was working her way up in terms of experience and status.

"She was a very popular and well-liked woman and I am sure her death touched the lives of many people."