A Billericay mother was found dead by her 12-year-old son after several days of heavy drinking Basildon Coroner's Court heard last week.

Sirkka-Liisa Gunnell, 47, of Kensington Gardens, had been treated for a drink problem in the past, but her condition had become worse following the death of her father and then her father-in-law.

In the days before her death she had been drinking heavily at her home and a post mortem found she had a blood alcohol level six times the drink drive limit at 490mg per 1,000ml of blood.

Coroner Malcolm Weir said: "This was a massive level of alcohol and no one is going to recover from that and in a woman it is more likely to have a lethal end.

"I think it is the highest figure I have come across, but it is purely a consequence of drinking too much."

Mrs Gunnell was last seen alive by her husband, Christopher Gunnell, and their son between 9 and 10pm on Saturday, May 13.

She was found the next morning at around 8.30am lying lifeless with her head resting on a settee.

After being alerted by his son Mr Gunnell tried to revive his wife, but she was already dead.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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