A HEARTBROKEN mother has told an inquest of the moment she found her daughter slumped unconscious on the floor after suffering an epileptic fit.

Christina Hart told Teesside Coroner's Court how Samantha had battled for years' to combat the effects of her illness and "lived life to the max" before a fatal seizure in August last year.

Mrs Hart told the hearing that she found Samantha, 21, collapsed and how attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.

Mrs Hart, of Dorset Road, Guisborough, said: "I got home at about 1.30pm and the front door was unlocked - my heart sank.

"I went in and found Samantha lying on the floor with the ironing board underneath her. I thought she had had a seizure and tried to turn her over but I couldn't because she was laid next to the couch."

She added: "She was a funny colour and I tried to bring her round but she wasn't responding. I knew there was something seriously wrong."

Samantha worked part-time in the Safeway store in her home town and was a support worker at Redcar's Grenfell Club, which caters for people with special needs.

Mrs Hart said: "She had fits sometimes two or three a week and then would go months without one.

"You could not predict when they would happen and she never had any warning.

"Over the past year they were getting worse. Sometimes the length between was shorter and the recovery time was getting longer."

Anthony Eastwood, assistant deputy coroner of Teesside, recorded a verdict of natural death brought on by a condition known as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.