A FORMER teaching assistant who struggled with drug addiction died from pneumonia, an inquest heard.

Angela Hinnigan was found unconscious at her Blackburn home by her partner Gareth Thomas in October last year.

The 42-year-old, who had a heroin addiction, and regularly smoked crack cocaine also suffered from sciatica and pleurisy.

And in the weeks leading up to her death, she was struggling with a chest infection that was causing her to cough up blood.

The inquest heard how Miss Hinnigan was well respected in her role as a teaching assistant and had managed to hide her addiction well.

She had been trying to turn her life around and had not taken any heroin for four days – but had been taking a large quantity of pain killers to ease the effects of withdrawal.

Consultant anaesthetist at Royal Preston Hospital Mark Pugh said: “If patients have pneumonia then breathing becomes worse and if you take painkillers it can raise the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, making it even more difficult to breathe.

"This can lead to unconsciousness because the lungs aren’t working properly.”

Miss Hinningan was found "unresponsive" by her partner her home in Livesey Branch Road on the evening of October 19, the hearing was told.

The inquest heard that a toxicology report – which would have revealed whether Miss Hinnigan had any alcohol or drugs in her body – had been lost.

But Coroner James Newman said that even if the results of the report had revealed high levels of painkillers or other drugs in her bloodstream, they would have had "little or no bearing" on the cause of death.

Mr Newman said: “Angela died of respiratory failure due to food and fluid entering her lungs, caused by a long standing chest infection and the fact she had developed pneumonia. I therefore record a conclusion of death by natural causes.”

Speaking after the inquest, Miss Hinnigan’s sister-in-law, Bernadette Hinnigan, said the family was unhappy with the outcome.

She said she believed there had been a failure in duty of care to provide a toxicology report.

The family said they would be seeking legal advice on the matter.