A 91-year-old-woman who was found “with her little dog next to her” after falling at home died from her injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Marion Wickham passed away in hospital on Monday, January 25, five days after she fell in her house in Thame Road, in Princes Risborough

Mrs Wickham was found by her neighbour on January 19, who just the day before had stayed the night at her house because the 91-year-old had developed a fear that people were living in her bedrooms without her knowledge.

At an inquest on Wednesday, coroner Crispin Butler stated that the accidental fall was the cause of Mrs Wickham’s death, as it resulted in her suffering a traumatic subarachnoid and subdural haemorrhage, causing “irreversible” bleeding on her brain.

Reading from a statement from Mrs Wickham’s friend and neighbour of more 25 years, Dr Sarah Rutherford, the coroner said: “I could see her on the floor stretched out on her back.

“I opened the door and spoke to her but had no response, and I held her hands which were warm.

“Her eyes were open but vacant, and she couldn’t squeeze my hand when I asked her to.”

“Her little dog was sitting next to her.”

In the days leading up to the fall, Mrs Wickham had developed a fear that people were living in her house without her knowledge, and had called the police “several” times.

Dr Rutherford spent the night in Mrs Wickham’s guest bedroom on January 18 to try and give her peace of mind.

According to the coroner, there was no evidence that there had ever been anyone else in the house.

Reading from a statement from Mrs Wickham’s son, Robert Surridge, the coroner revealed that Mrs Wickham was “in better physical shape” than most people her age and did not have a history of falls.

In his report, Mr Surridge stated that after suffering a stroke in 2013, it resulted in her “not particularly enjoying life anymore”, and that his widowed mother had become “increasingly fatalistic” in the past year.

He also added that he was “more concerned about her mental health than her physical health.”

Examining her injuries, the coroner explained that blood thinning medication Apixaban that Mrs Wickham was taking for a pre-existing condition would have “exacerbated” the bleeding on her brain, but that it is unlikely to have changed the ultimate outcome.

Mr Butler said: “What may have been a less traumatic injury for many has been traumatic for her, particularly because the Apixaban would have exacerbated the bleeding that occurred.

“The bleeding in her brain is something that would have been irreversible.

“Whether it is something to do with her thinking she heard someone or was suspicious there was someone in the house we won’t know.

“It could be that she was just going about her business, getting something from another part of the house and just fell.”