A HAMPSHIRE grandmother died after a fall at her family home.

Retired administrator Josephine Kershaw, from Brockenhurst, died after her head hit a skirting board as a result of the fall, the inquest heard.

Winchester Coroner’s Court was told how the 79-year-old, who lived in an annexe in Forest Drive with her family, had had a hip replacement.

Giving evidence, her daughter Madeleine Mildenhall described Josephine as independent and capable, and always careful when going up and down stairs.

Madeleine found her mother unconscious on December 21 and called Hampshire police.

She also spoke to a local vicar who called a nurse to check Miss Kershaw.

Before paramedics from South Central Ambulance Service and police arrived, the nurse found that she was deceased.

Coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: “I cannot say for sure why she fell down the stairs.

“She may have lost her footing, it may have been a medical reason but the pathologist was unable to give any clear reason for the fall.”