GETTING up to answer a call of nature in the night led to a woman's death.

Unsteady on her feet because of problems with her balance and arthritis in both knees, 76-year-old Dorothy Burnett lost her balance opening her bedroom door and fell, hitting her head heavily on the floor. She died the following day in Middlesbrough General Hospital.

Walter Burnett, her husband, said his wife had put on the bedroom light, but fell when she caught her leg on a chair. He told an inquest that he helped her back to bed at their home in Linden Grove, Great Ayton, near Middlesbrough and gave her two head ache tablets.

His wife complained of pains in her head and Mr Burnett rang 999 only to return to the bedroom to find her unconscious. He rang 999 again.

The ambulance took 25 minutes to arrive.

Deputy Teesside Coroner Gordon Hetherington heard that Mrs Burnett, who was from Darlington, had a history of falls.

He said medical history referred to Mrs Burnett sometimes drinking to excess, but he accepted that was not a factor in this case.

Mr Hetherington recorded a verdict of death by accident.