A 64-year-old Accrington woman whose life had been touched by tragedy killed herself by taking a massive overdose of prescribed medication.

An inquest heard that former newsagent Margaret Burrows suffered from depression and was receiving assistance from the Lancashire Care Trust’s Crisis Team.

But her husband Ken Burrows said he believed his wife of 44 years should have been better protected after revealing she had told the Crisis Team of her suicidal tendencies.

“Why was she given enough tablets to kill herself? I don’t think the Crisis team protected her enough,” said Mr Burrows. “The day before she told them she had been thinking of jumping under a bus.

“She asked them to put her into hospital for her own protection but they said it wasn’t necessary”

The inquest heard the couple went to bed on May 5 and everything seemed to be fine. At some time in the night she got up and took a massive overdose of sev-eral medications.

The couple had opened Burrows News at the top of Broadway which they ran for 10 years before moving to Spain, where they ran a bar for three years.

In 1996 their eldest son, Andrew, died.

He was teaching in Accrington and had been offered a job at Chelsea Royal College of Art.

In February of last year the couple lost their life savings when their home in Clayton-le-Moors was burgled and they then moved back to Banbury Close.

Mr Burrows said that on the anniversary of the burglary she started thinking about all the bad things that had happened.

“She became depressed and was put on medication by her doctor,” said Mr Burrows. “She told the doctor and the Crisis Team that she felt suicidal and asked to be admitted to hospital.”

Mrs Burrows worked for many years as a volunteer with the Scope charity.

She was an accomplished artist and in 1974 was offered a job working for the Walt Disney Corp-oration. Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a verdict Mrs Burrows killed herself.