An elderly Aylesbury woman who fell in her home and was not found for several hours died nearly two months later from head injuries, a coroner has found.

Margaret Copcutt died at Stoke Mandeville hospital on January 20 following a fall which took place on December 4, at her home in Home Close, Western Turville.

At an inquest at Beaconsfield Coroners’ Court on Thursday, the court heard how Ms Copcutt, who was 85 years old, sustained head and facial injuries when she fell. She was not found for two to three hours afterwards, when her son came to her aid.

Paramedics conducted an initial health check on Ms Copcutt, who was born in County Kilkenny, and found that she was not seriously hurt.

However, according to her son, about a week after the incident her personality started to change, and she became “confused, vacant and lethargic.”

Ms Copcutt was admitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital on December 17, and died just over a month later.

Following an autopsy, coroner Crispin Butler concluded that Ms Copcutt had suffered an acute and on-chronic subdural haematoma, which is caused when blood clots between the skull and the surface of the brain, putting pressure on the brain.

He said: “It seems very clear to me that what we have is an acute and on-chronic subdural haematoma described as traumatic.  This is something long-standing over a modest period of time.

“We know that Margaret died for this delayed onset injury sustained in the home, which led to a deterioration from December 17.”

Mr Butler concluded that the cause of death was the accidental fall.