A WOMAN suffocated on soil after falling outside her town centre flat, an inquest heard.

Heather Owens, 60, was found in bushes in private grounds behind the home at Vernon Court, off Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley.

Coroner Martin Fleming recorded a verdict of accidental death at Bradford Coroner’s Court.

The inquest heard that Mrs Owens died from asphyxiation due to inhalation of soil, brought about by acute alcohol intoxication.

Soon after Mrs Owens was found on April 26 this year, the police described the death as a tragic accident. A fellow resident of Vernon Hall said at the time that she was “well thought of”.

Mrs Owens was survived by her husband Mick and son, Brian.

She was cremated at Oakworth Crematorium on May 8, following a funeral at St Anne’s Catholic Church in Keighley.