A WOMAN died after falling head-first down a set of stairs at her home, an inquest heard.

The body of Carole Sainsbury was found at the bottom of the stairs at her home in Herriard on the morning of October 11.

The 61-year-old broke her spine in the fall and hit her head, and is thought to have died instantly, an inquest at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard.

A post-mortem revealed a reading of 191milligrams of alcohol in 100millilitres of blood – more than twice the legal drink drive limit.

Her husband Malcolm said the couple had been drinking with friends and family the night before at the village’s Royal British Legion, and Mrs Sainsbury had four glasses of wine and some vodka and tonic.

In a statement read out by North East Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley, Mr Sainsbury said he did not sleep well that night but woke at 8am.

He said: “I got out of bed to use the toilet and on returning I realised that Carole was not there. I walked across the landing and she was not there either. I went to walk downstairs and as soon as I did I saw Carole lying at the bottom of the stairs.”

Mr Bradley recorded a verdict of accidental death.