THE distraught sister of a Worcester woman who died after taking a combination of prescription drugs has described her as "bright, articulate and fun".

Rebecca Wilkins, of White Castle, suffered sexual abuse between the age of five and 16 and had overdosed on tablets a number of times as a means of escaping from flashbacks, an inquest heard.

At the hearing in Stourport on Wednesday, it was said the 34-year-old died after intentionally taking drugs including zopiclone, which is used for treatment of insomnia.

The former Black Pear Jogger had also taken cyclizine, a drug used to treat nausea, vomiting and dizziness, which was not currently prescribed to her.

The court heard how Ms Wilkins had regularly been admitted to hospital suffering with intentional dehydration and also limited her food intake while maintaining a gruelling exercise regime.

Assistant coroner Andrew Cox said this made the young solicitor "peculiarly vulnerable to even modest overdose attempts."

The cause of her death was given as cardio respiratory arrest caused by use of multiple drugs.

A report from Ms Wilkins' doctor, Dr Goldsmith of Haresfield House in Worcester was read out in court.

In it, Dr Goldsmith stated the marathon runner would always put a "safety mechanism" in place following an overdose.

She said: "After taking the overdose she would either present to A&E or tell a friend. She would always need to put a safety mechanism in place so she would be discovered or admitted to hospital."

Dr Goldsmith detailed instances when Ms Wilkins received psychiatric support, and said she reviewed her at least once a month over the past few years.

Speaking at the inquest, Ms Wilkins' sister Louise Wilkins, said: "My sister was a very intelligent, articulate, bright woman. She was very helpful, she was kind, generous with her time.

"She loved her family and was a family person. She was bright, she was articulate, she was fun.

“But, I think she was also very sad. She experienced early childhood experiences that had really shaped the rest of her life.

"I do not think my sister intended to die at any point. It is almost like she like she wants to take a step out when things got too much. At times of stress, people do different things.”

Dr Ruth Sheppard, a clinical psychologist at Kennedy House, Spring Gardens in Worcester, assessed Ms Wilkins on Wednesday, December 9, 2015.

She told the court: "Based on what she was telling me, there were some positive coping strategies and others which were really quite destructive.

"As she said to me, they [the overdoses] seem to be a means of trying to get a breather, trying to get a break from the distress she was feeling.”

Mr Cox, said: "I completely understand why she has found her life difficult and struggled with these experiences. It is tremendously to her credit that she has done as well as she had. To hold down a job as a solicitor is not easy in the best of circumstances.

"This was not what I could describe as a serious or gross overdose. Someone as vulnerable as her, tragically, the effects have been fatal.

"She knew what she was doing when she took the tablets. She intended to take the tables but I’m of the view that she didn’t intend for that to result in her death."

The coroner returned a conclusion of accidental death.