FOUL play has been ruled out of the death of an alcoholic whose semi-naked body was found entangled in a barbed wire fence, an inquest heard.

Dr Joan Sugden, 53, was found covered in cuts and bruises, wearing nothing but her blue underwear, in Broken Gate Lane, close to Gerrards Cross, on a cold November afternoon last year.

Police initially treated her death as suspicious but a post-mortem concluded no third party was involved. However, her exact cause of death remains unknown, Amersham Coroner's Court heard last Friday.

Mrs Sugden had gone missing from the home she shared with her husband, Dr Keith Sugden, 18 hours before she was found in undergrowth, pressed against a fence.

Dr Sugden, 53, saw her leave their house, in Middle Road, Denham, around 4pm on November 4. He assumed she was going to the shops, a 20 minute walk along Broken Gate Lane towards the A40, to buy gin.

He told the inquest his wife, a retired psychiatrist, had abused alcohol for many years and had gone missing five times in the last five years.

He said: "I would not say that she was confused at that stage.

"She told me I am going for a short walk, I am going for a short walk.' "She got to the shops, she tried to use her visa card but she could not remember her pin."

Mrs Sugden, whose grown-up daughter was at the inquest, did not return home that night.

Dr Sugden did not start looking for his wife until noon the next day. "I was waiting at home for her to telephone," he said.

When he started his search he quickly found her clothing in the secluded lane close to their house.

He said: "I could see something lying in the track which I initially thought was someone lying there.

"When I got close it was Joan's pink and silver shoes, lying parallel to each other.

"I found her leggings, I got worried when I found that.

"I saw her bag on the verge but I failed to see her body," he said.

Nicholas Hunt, a Home Office pathologist, performed the autopsy. Her liver was severely damaged from alcohol abuse. She also had many old bruises, including a black eye, the inquest heard.

He said it was most likely she died from hypothermia. He explained that people suffering from hypothermia become confused and behave strangely as their body shuts down.

Dr Hunt said: "There is a phenomenon called paradoxical undressing. The person thinks they are getting too hot and remove their clothes."

Dr Sugden told the court his wife often fell, and had hit her face on furniture the day before.

Richard Hulett, coroner for Buckinghamshire, recorded an open verdict.

He said: "The circumstances in which she died and in which she was found are most unusual. There was a long history of alcohol use and abuse."

He added: "I accept that she did go out at 4pm and she obviously got to the shop.

"She did then disappear.

"Discussion of the rights and the wrongs, that someone might or might not have searched at that stage when she did not come home are not matters I can decide on."