Mum-of-two dies in tragic garden furniture incident after celebrating putting it together

18 March 2022, 13:21

A "brilliant" mother-of-two died after stumbling over garden furniture which she had celebrated successfully putting together, an inquest has heard.

Sarah Fullard had been celebrating successfully assembling the furniture when she stumbled and fell on the coffee table at the patio, an inquest at Hull coroner's court heard.

The position she was in after falling meant that she was unable to breathe and died of asphyxiation, Dr Ian Richmond said when he gave evidence.

There were a couple of cuts to her face but no head or brain injuries.

Sarah's neighbours recalled her "merry" mood while she drank some wine and beer and enjoyed the warm weather, according to HullLive.

The post-mortem revealed that she had moderate to severe alcohol intoxication but it was not the cause of her death.

Dr Richmond noted her liver was in a healthy condition, suggesting she had never been a big drinker.

Area Coroner Lorraine Harris also said she did not believe alcohol was the key reason for Sarah's death, with the level she had leaving her at a greater risk of falling but it was not toxic.

She said: "Sarah was described as merry and the alcohol level suggests she was at an increased risk of a fall but it did not contribute directly to her death.

"She was going about her routine, having cooked a meal and cleaned up, which suggests to me she was no more than merry.

"She simply did what many of us do and that was to have a few drinks in the safety of her home.

"She appears to have stood up at some point and stumbled into her coffee table. She landed in such a way that she was unable to breath and became asphyxiated."

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In a statement, her mum, Jenny, said: "We cannot put into words how much we love and miss Sarah. We are just incredibly proud of her."

Reflecting on her childhood, she added: "Sarah was a happy and healthy little girl who enjoyed singing and dancing.

"She loved My Little Pony and Cindy dolls and we still have them.

"She was bright and never struggled at school and made lots of friends. She loved performing arts and always stuck up for herself.

"She was also good at gymnastics and even competed in trampolining. She was also into cars and motorbikes."

Sarah was interested in travel and tourism and enlisted on a course at Hull College, the inquest heard.

She had been in a relationship with a childhood sweetheart, but that ended and she met someone else who she fell pregnant with her first son with. They had a further son but later split up suddenly.

"Sarah was a brilliant mum and she always cooked healthy meals from scratch," Jenny went on to say.

"We are really proud of the way she brought up her boys who are intelligent and loving. She and her partner broke up suddenly and her world fell apart.

"But they carried on and remained amicable for the sake of the children.

"Her life was completely normal until her passing.

"She had planned to go on holiday to Cornwall and had been looking forward to it but it had to be cancelled. She would have been there the weeks she died."