A ROMSEY woman set her bedroom on fire shortly after taking a fatal overdose of anti-depressants.

Patty Man, 51, was rescued from her burning room by her partner Nicholas Ruber and taken to the bathroom where he doused her under the shower, an inquest heard yesterday.

But as he went to call 999 she returned to the smoke-logged bedroom where firefighters found her minutes later.

She was declared dead at the scene at the house in Jacobs Close in the early hours of February 4.

Mr Ruber said he and Patty had been married, got divorced, then were living together again. They slept in separate bedrooms as he snores very loudly.

He said he was woken by the smoke alarm, adding: "I could see flames shooting across the floor. I could hear a roaring sound. I ran in to get her. When I opened her door there was smoke and flames. Her hair was on fire. I put her in the shower and got water on her, doused her hair.

"I ran to get the phone and said 'stay there'. I though she was safe there. I had to open the window to breathe to make the 999 call."

He went back to get her but Patty had gone from the bathroom and then the toxic smoke forced Mr Ruber down the stairs.

Neighbour Dan Gardner tried to reach Patty but the flames and smoke forced him out of the house.

Mr Ruber was taken to hospital where he stayed for several days.

The inquest heard that Patty had taken an overdose two days earlier. She was suffering from depression and psychosis which seemed to stem from the death of her mother in Hong Kong in 2014.

Mr Ruber said she had a fear of being sectioned.

Another neighbour, Rosemary Gentle, said they had known each other since Patty was a teenage waitress in a restaurant in Bell Street in Romsey and had been good friends since Patty bought the house in Jacobs Close in 1996.

Mrs Gentle, in a statement, said: "When I first got to know her she was happy and bubbly with a good sense of humour. She loved going shopping and we would have meals together. I noticed a decline in her mental health at around the time her mother died.

"She told me she was a monster. She thought everyone in Romsey thought she was a monster. I reassured her and told her she was a lovely person."

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue, who conducted the post-mortem, said the main cause of death was the overdose but inhalation of fire fumes was a factor.

Robin Furniss, fire investigator, said he believed Patty had started two fires in the room, by the wardrobe and on the bed.

The police investigated the death and DC Sean Owens said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Senior coroner Grahame Short recorded the death as a suicide.