A BARROW woman who was found dead in her bedroom suffered a drug-related death, an inquest has found.

Leianne Jane Shaw, 40, of Dumfries Street, was found on June 6, 2022, after her 25-year-old son had gone to check on her after learning from a local shopkeeper that she had not been in for the last two days.

Assistant Coroner for Cumbria Margaret Taylor found it was 'likely' that the cause of her death was multiple drug toxicity of methadone and heroin.

A statement read to Cockermouth Coroner’s Court by Ms Shaw’s mother Barbara Boardman told how her daughter was a 'funny, cheeky' child but 'became friends with the wrong crowd' at around the age of 12 when she attended Walney School.

Ms Shaw went into a children's care home on Abbey Road, where she had a son at the age of 15.

The court heard how Ms Shaw then left Barrow at 18 and moved around, to Carlisle, and to Bowness, where she worked at the Albert Hotel for around eight years before she suffered a serious car accident, breaking her pelvis and knee.

This left her with permanent mobility problems and chronic pain.

In 2018 she discovered that her former partner of 18 months in Carlisle, known only as 'Wes', had drowned in a 'freak accident'.

That same year Ms Boardman said she began a relationship with Craig Shepherd, 'an old friend from the Lakes'.

The court heard Mr Shepherd was 'in and out of prison for domestic incidents involving Leianne', and would drink heavily.

Ms Shaw found Mr Shepherd dead in January 2021 on the living room floor of the same house in which she died.

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An inquest found that he had died of alcohol and drug toxicity combined with a heart condition.

Ms Shaw had suffered long-standing issues with alcohol and heroin and was being prescribed methadone at the time of her death.

Ms Boardman said that for the last 18 months of her life she was 'very down', became reclusive, and was 'fed up with the state of her house', which she said was 'unliveable' due to 'constant promises' not being met by the owner to make essential repairs.

Ms Taylor said there was 'no evidence' that Ms Shaw took the drugs with the intention of ending her life.