A MOTHER who got lost whilst four times the drink-drive limit fractured her skull waiting for a lift home.

Gillian Inkson had been dropped off by a taxi near her home in Ullswater Avenue, West End, after a night of heavy drinking.

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard the 65-year-old ended up on Seaton Close – a three-minute walk from her home.

Kun Wong, of Seaton Close, said she saw Mrs Inkson staggering on the pavement at 11.10pm on February 28.

“I had finished work and was driving home when I saw the lady outside my house,” she added.

“She said she was looking for Ullswater Avenue. I said I would give her a lift home, but I had to put something in my house first.

“The lady, who I did not recognise, was struggling with the incline of my driveway.

“I put something inside my door and then I turned around and she was on the floor.

“There was no noise coming from her.”

An ambulance was called and Gillian was taken to Southampton General Hospital. She died the next day from her injuries.

Pathologist Dr Mark Walker said Mrs Inkson had fractured her skull in the fall.

He added: “It was a quite significant injury.”

A toxicology report found a blood alcohol level of 310mg per 100ml of blood, which Dr Walker said was the main cause of the fall.

“I could not find any other pathological reason that could act as a cause for the fall apart from alcohol.”

Gillian had also suffered from breast cancer in the past, but Dr Walker confirmed this had no impact regarding the fall.

Senior coroner Grahame Short recorded a conclusion of accidental death.