A “true character” and well-known barmaid who “pulled a pint in every pub in Blackburn” died after an accident in her home.
Jackie Michelle Cottrill, 52, was found dead at her home in Smalley Way, Blackburn, in January by her nephew Josh Brocklebank who had been staying with her.
Mr Brocklebank had come downstairs to find his aunt had been strangled after her clothing was caught in the oven, reported LancsLive.
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In a statement Mr Brocklebank said he had gone downstairs in the early hours of Sunday, January 24, when his aunt had made him a bacon sandwich.
He had returned to bed, waking up again at 1pm and leaving his room at 2pm. He went into the kitchen and found Miss Cottrill collapsed by the oven door.
Dr James Adeley told an inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court on Wednesday that he had “never come across such an unusual case” in his 20 years as a coroner.
The inquest heard that Miss Cottrill had previously suffered a stroke around six years prior to her death but hadn’t suffered from balance issues as a result.
A post mortem examination revealed no signs of disease or natural death.
Her cause of death was the compression of Miss Cottrill’s neck caused by her pyjama top becoming accidentally entangled in the oven door.
After discussion with Miss Cottrill’s family, the coroner recorded the cause of death as asphyxiation in order to make it clear that Miss Cottrill’s death was purely an accident.
“It is very unusual that someone who was fit and well managed to suspend themselves accidentally from the oven door,” Dr Adeley said.
“What appears to have happened is that for some reason she has fallen and caught her pyjama top on the lower handle of the oven door.
“I can’t explain how she ended up in this position, it's a very unusual case. In my 20 years of doing this I have never come across this happening.”
Miss Cottrill’s two daughters, Sarah Ramsdale and Toni Cottrill, attended the inquest alongside their uncle Adrian Macfarlane.
“Only she knows how it happened,” Miss Ramsdale said.
“We’ll never know,” Miss Cottrill’s brother added.
Returning a conclusion of accidental death the coroner said: “Something has occurred that has caused Jackie to get her pyjama top caught and through extraordinarily bad luck she has died.
“She died at her home address due to the entanglement of her clothing with an oven door handle.”
Miss Cottrill was described by those who knew her as a “happy and sociable person” who worked hard in her job as a barmaid.
She was well-known in Blackburn, having worked at Queens Park Club and the Railway Club, and was often regarded as “everyone’s agony aunt”.
Her daughters said she “pretty much knew the name of everyone in Blackburn”.
She was grandma to 10-year-old Mayson and had been with her partner Kev for around a decade.
“She knew everything about everyone and was never shy with a bit of gossip,” her daughters told LancsLive after the inquest.
“Her wonderful sense of humour endeared her to everyone she came into contact with and it is a great
testament to her nature that she formed so many long-lasting relationships over the years.
“There wasn’t a pub in Blackburn where she hadn’t pulled a pint; she even worked alongside her daughters in the Last Orders pub.
“Being as sociable as she was, she never saw this as work but as a chance to spend time with her friends and make new ones.
“Blackburn has lost a true character and the town, pubs and games nights will never be the same without her.”
