A BARROW mother-of-two who spent almost four years in a vegetative state died from a brain injury after taking an overdose of drugs meant for diabetics, an inquest heard.

Jodie Simpson, 42, spent a number of years at Abbey Meadow nursing home in Flass Lane before being transferred to St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston after her family won a right-to-die battle in May 2016 following a lengthy dispute with the courts and health experts.

A tube which gave her food and fluids was taken out of her body and she was transferred to the hospice where she died peacefully on June 4.

Four years prior to that, Miss Simpson had been found on the floor of her Barrow home on Monday August 20 by her ex-partner Adam Chadwick and her brother Michael Devlin after a weekend drinking with her nephew James Ackred.

The pair were told by Miss Simpson's children that she had been on the floor like that all day. They assumed that she was just asleep as this was quite normal for her after a binge drinking session.

However, the following day, Mr Devlin and Mr Chadwick found that she was still unresponsive and called paramedics.

Mr Chadwick, who split up with Miss Simpson two weeks prior, then noticed that several of his glicazide tablets, which are used to lower blood sugar, were missing from a plastic box.

However, the coroner, Kally Cheema, ruled that there was not enough evidence to determine that the overdose was a suicide bid.

Miss Simpson was taken to Furness General Hospital where she remained for a number of weeks before being taken to Abbey Meadow nursing home.

She was later diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state at a centre in Newcastle in 2014.

Her family recently spoke to the Victoria Derbyshire Show on BBC Two to speak out about Miss Simpson's right-to-die battle.

READ MORE: Barrow family bravely speak out after heart-breaking right-to-die battle