A GRANDMOTHER with a history of drug addiction was found dead in her home with a bag of heroin near her body, an inquest has heard.

A number of text messages from dealers advertising drugs for sale were also found on her phone.

Sharon Cole, 49, was found by police in March when friends and family became worried after not hearing from her for several days.

Police forced entry into her home in Humphry Street, Nelson, where she was found dead in her bed.

A bag containing a brown powder, later found to be heroin, was found near her body.

A postmortem examination revealed that Ms Cole had died from respiratory and central nervous system depression caused by the use of heroin.

Traces of methadone, cocaine and paracetamol were also found in her system.

The inquest was also told that Ms Cole had had mental health issues over the years.

David Lucas, a case worker at substance misuse service Inspire, said that Ms Cole had started coming to them following a relapse in 2017.

He said: “Her last face-to-face consultation was on March 6, when she went to an appointment with a recovery coordinator.

“She had entered treatment with a primary goal of abstinence. She was, however, at times reluctant to engage with mental health services.

“In November 2017 she stated she was disappointed with her relapse into heroin use.”

It was however heard that Ms Cole would abstain from using drugs on the weekends when she spent time with her daughter and grandchildren.

Detective Inspector Simon Wall confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Concluding, coroner Richard Taylor said: “While she had previously battled addiction which her family were aware of, she did have a relapse in 2017.

"She sought assistance from Inspire but by March she was still sporadically using drugs. But she was concious about her drug use and her family. She did not want to upset them.

"But on this occasion it appears she ingested an excess of heroin. There is no evidence to suggest she intended to end her life."