A 72-YEAR-OLD woman died after dropping her lit cigarette into her bedding, an inquest heard.

Catherine (Kate) Raw had been drinking brandy and lager and had been helped into bed by two neighbours before the fire at her home in Wright Street, Sutton, on December 13, last year.

She died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation. A toxicology report found she had drunk a relatively large amount of alcohol before her death and had 263 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, more than three times the legal limit for driving.

The inquest heard a lit cigarette was the undoubted cause of the fire, but it remained a mystery how it was ignited because there was no evidence of a lighter or matches in her room.

It was also unlikely – given the amount she had drunk – that she would have managed to get downstairs to light the cigarette from the oven.

Tuesday's inquest at Skipton Magistrates Court was told smoke detectors had been fitted less than a month before.

The electricity supply had been off for much of the day on December 13, and she had been visited on and off by her friend and neighbour, Lois Bannister.

Ms Bannister, who described Mrs Raw as her best friend, said they met up every day. She said some had believed her to be stand-offish, but she found her to be intelligent and eloquent.

On the day of the fire, Mrs Raw had unusually been drinking brandy, on top of her usual cans of lager.

Ms Bannister had called for help from another neighbour to get Mrs Raw upstairs to bed, and had checked she was asleep before leaving and putting the keys back through the letterbox.

Another neighbour, on his way home, heard a smoke alarm and called emergency services. Firefighters using breathing apparatus found Mrs Raw in her bedroom and took her downstairs, where attempts to revive her failed.

Coroner Rob Turnbull recorded a verdict of accidental death, and said there was no doubt a lit cigarette had caused the fire, but it would remain a mystery as to how it had been ignited.