A CORONER recorded a verdict of misadventure and expressed his shock at the amount of alcohol found in the bloodstream of a Southcrest woman who was found dead.

Worcestershire coroner Victor Round said the concentration of alcohol in Tracey Collins' bloodstream was the highest he had ever seen.

Miss Collins, who was 30 and a recruitment consultant, was found lying at the bottom of her staircase at her Gilbertstone Close home by her partner on November 15.

She had a history of depression and difficulty with alcohol, said Mr Round, as well as personal domestic problems.

She was also taking prescribed medication, which were within normal levels, and had been seeing a psychiatrist.

A post mortem was inconclusive but later toxicology tests showed a blood alcohol concentration of 447milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood.

Mr Round said: "I don't think I have ever seen one higher than that.

"To put it bluntly, women start to die at 300 or 350 milligrammes, so I was surprised she had survived up to that level.

"Some men die at less."

Mr Round added: "I have no reason to say she took her own life. She would not have known.

"It does suggest she was stuck with an alcohol problem to the point where if you live a long time you get cirrhosis of the liver, but you can develop the ability to take alcohol on to the point where it poisons you."