Teacher died after sharing bottle and a half of wine with friend in her garden, inquest told

Gill Howe became confused and 'slumped' in her chair while drinking with a friend

Friday 07 June 2019 08:01 BST
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Teacher died after sharing bottle and a half of wine with friend in her garden, inquest told

A teacher who rarely drank alcohol died after sharing a bottle and a half of red wine with a friend.

Gill Howe, a 46-year-old teacher who worked at Cleeve Primary School in Bransholme, Hull, died in June last year.

Howe was drinking in her garden with a colleague when she became confused and “slumped” in her chair while drinking red wine with a friend, an inquest into her death at Hull Coroner’s Court heard, according to Hull Live.

Her friend also fell asleep, and when she woke up she found Howe was unconscious and ran to get help from her husband at home.

Howe could not be resuscitated and died on the way to Hull Royal Infirmary.

Howe’s husband was at work and was not informed until he returned home the next morning.

Her family said her death was a “tragic accident” and what happened “may not have been the case in someone used to drinking”.

Dr Justin Cooke, the pathologist who conducted the post mortem, said Howe died due to respiratory failure, as a result of alcohol intoxication.

He said the toxicology report found Howe had just under four times the amount of alcohol of the legal drink drive limit.

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However, he said as Howe was not a regular drinker she was unable to tolerate as much alcohol as someone who drinks regularly.

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