A WOMAN who lay dead in her flat for up to six weeks before her body was discovered, had previously rejected offers of help, authorities said last night.

An inquest in Middlesbrough heard this week that 38-year-old Kim Williams, who suffered from epilepsy, had to be identified from dental records, after a housing officer found her body.

Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield heard she had died of a severe epileptic seizure. He recorded a verdict that the mother-of-two died of natural causes.

However, relatives said more could have been done for her.

"It just seems as though she was abandoned,'' said her sister, Tanya.

Ms Williams lived in Greystoke Grove, Redcar, east Cleveland, which is covered by Redcar and Cleveland Social Services department.

A spokesman said: "Obviously, Kim's death was very sad and we fully understand the distress felt by her family.

"In fact, the involvement of the council's social services staff related only to providing her with assistance in handling financial matters. She did not request any further community support. Indeed, she made it very clear that she did not want it.''

A spokesperson for Ms Williams' landlord, Coast and Country Housing, said: "We were not the lead agency providing support for this individual.

"However, Ms Williams signed up to our Basic Homecall Service, which provides tenants who live in the community with a 24- hour emergency response service, including twice-yearly visits from our wardens and a maintenance check on basic equip- ment.

"Had Ms Williams signed up to our Homecall Plus Service, which can be tailored to suit individual requirements, she could have benefited from more frequent visits from the warden.

"She also had full access to our 24-hour response service, which would have been alerted as soon as she pulled the safety cord in her property.

"It's very rare that a problem occurs with our system and, although we are investigating it in relation to Ms Williams, we are confident that the service is reliable."

Her mother, Teresa Learman, said last night: "She has had fits since she was a baby, but they have got worse as she has got older. That's why I thought she was definitely in the council's care, in the flat.

"They told me she would be safe in that accommodation."