Woman died after falling on to broken wine bottles in tragic accident

The death of a much-loved mum who fell onto wine bottles in the street was a freak accident, an inquest found.

Susan Woods had been out for the evening with friends and her husband on Saturday, August 15 last year, the hearing at Bootle Town Hall was told on Tuesday.

The couple had bought some drinks on the way home, which Susan carried while her husband went back to get money from a cash machine to pay for a takeaway meal, due to be delivered to their home.

During the walk home along Moorland Road, Maghull the 45-year-old fell heavily on to the bottles, which broke, coroner's officer James Martindale said.

The inquest was told Mrs Woods sustained "catastrophic, fatal injuries to her neck."

Paramedics rushed to the scene and performed CPR before Mrs Woods was taken to Aintree Hospital, where the local authority worker later died.

The couple chose slightly different routes to walk home, so husband Andrew didn't see his wife fall.

A cause of death, of an incised wound to the neck, was established and a conclusion of accidental death was recorded.

A previous hearing was told Mrs Woods had a bag containing wine and cider which had been bought from an off-licence.

She was found by residents on Moorland Road after falling suddenly close to a driveway, with the "wine bottle smashed and broken directly under her neck."

On that evening, the couple had been socialising with friends and returned to Maghull in a taxi at 8.40pm. They were described as being in "good spirits."

Following the fatal fall, police arrived at the scene and a huge presence remained on Moorland Road for several hours as detectives tried to work out what had happened.

The next day, the force confirmed they were treating the incident as a "tragic street incident" and it was not suspicious.

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After she died, friends and residents who knew Mrs Woods paid tribute, and one man called the 45-year-old, her partner and her children a "lovely family."

One woman told the ECHO: "Sue was a nice woman.

She added: "I remember seeing her walking down the road holding hands with her partner during lockdown.

"It's so, so sad."