A WOMAN died from an accidental fall while her granddaughter was downstairs, a coroner has ruled.

Retired hairdresser Vivien Seddon, 67, died at Salford Royal Hospital on August 15 after suffering a traumatic head injury.

Bolton Coroners Court heard how a few days prior to her death, Mrs Seddon, of Fair Street, Bolton, suffered a fall at home while climbing the stairs - which did not have a bannister installed on either side.

Mrs Seddon’s daughter, Kate Lundy, told Bolton Coroners Court her mother was “a doting grandma of six”.

“She was fun and bubbly, and a bit of a character - and she spent a lot of time with her grandchildren,” she added.

She also volunteered as a hairdresser at Bolton Hospice.

Mrs Seddon was a “functioning alcoholic”, said her daughter. She also suffered from liver cirrhosis and took anti-depressant medications for her low mood.

She had no previous history of falls, known to family or doctors, other than when she broke her ankle “running away from a bee” in 2005, her daughter added.

During the inquest, relatives questioned that if a bannister had been in place, whether it might have broken her fall, or whether Mrs Seddon might have been able to grab it to stop her from falling.

Landlord Susan Weir, a retired nurse, bought the property in 2015 for the purpose of renting.

She said: “I had regular, monthly contact with Vivien - and if she, or any of her family members had asked, I would have put a handrail up in the property.”

The property is now being rented out to a new tenant, and a bannister has been installed on the right-hand side of the staircase in the house, which was built in 1907.

Assistant coroner Simon Nelson, who reached a conclusion of accidental death, told the court: “We simply do not know what happened, whether she missed a step or lost her balance. I believe it was an accidental fall.”