A WOMAN “defeated” by chronic stomach pain took an overdose to end her life, an inquest heard.

Carol Burton, also known as Cassandra, was found dead in her bed in Oakridge Towers on Wednesday, October 1.

The 60-year-old had complained of stomach pain for the last six months of her life, and had also injured her back, the inquest at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard.

A suicide note, read out by North East Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley, read: “I have been in so much pain for such a long time. I’m not able to cope with it.”

Her sister Pauline Lambert told the inquest: “She was not good. Because she was in so much pain she had to live in her bed and then her back went. She was unable to sit down in the last month of her life.”

She added that her sister had been due to have an examination to find the source of her stomach pain.

The inquest heard two weeks before her death, Miss Burton had been admitted to Parklands hospital “on an informal basis”, having expressed thoughts about killing herself.

She discharged herself a couple of days later, saying she felt better, and agreed to receive follow-up visits by a medical team to check on her progress.

Miss Burton, who had previously been diagnosed with a depressive disorder, received a home visit on October 1, when she received a prescription of painkillers.

PC Ricky Davis said he was called to the flat at 11.20pm that night, after the police received a report from a personal alarm. He found empty blister packs in the kitchen bin, and a suicide note was also found in the bedroom near to Miss Burton’s body.

Mr Bradley recorded a verdict of suicide. He said: “I have absolutely no doubt, from the history and everything that everyone has said, that Cassandra was overcome by the pain and distress, and she was defeated.”