Eastbourne administrator, 33, found dead in home

The inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (May 19) heard Charlene Hardy was found at her home in Lascelles Mansions on the morning of December 17 by her mother, Gaynor Goacher.

Ms Hardy had a rare and serious condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome which affects the nerves.

As a result, she was taking prescribed medication which included morphine to control the pain, the inquest heard.

On December 16 Ms Goacher returned from a trip early because Ms Hardy had said she was feeling unwell. Ms Goacher said her daughter stayed in bed most of the day and she regularly checked on her.

Ms Goacher said it was 'normal' for Ms Hardy to regularly feel unwell.

On the morning of December 17 at 7am Ms Goacher found Ms Hardy dead in her bed. Emergency services were called but Ms Hardy was declared dead that morning.

Toxicology reports found that Ms Hardy was four times over the therapeutic level of morphine.

GP reports from Dr Catherine Jones noted that previous GP notes said on a number of occasions Ms Hardy had asked for more medication.

Dr Jones also said Ms Hardy had a history of drug dependency and depression.

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze said there was 'no evidence to suggest suicide'.

He said, “She was to some extent dependent on these drugs and she had a long-standing addiction.”

Mr Craze ruled Ms Hardy died due to dependence on drugs.

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