A 56-YEAR-old woman from Newport died after a long battle with alcohol, an inquest has heard.

Christine Mallen, of Maesglas Avenue in Newport, was found dead on Saturday, March 30, 2019, by a police officer after a friend raised concerns after not hearing from her for several days.

On arrival at 11.40am, constable Carl Haydock said he found Ms Mallen lying beside her bed with a quilt over her, and confirmed there was no sign of injury or third party involvement.

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said they were called at 12.22pm and arrived at 12.28pm. Ms Mallen was pronounced dead at 12.45pm.

A pathologist's report found no evidence of injury, fractures, trauma, or third-party involvement, but noted effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.

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The report also confirmed Ms Mallen had 281mg per decilitre of alcohol in her system, which senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders referred to as a “considerably elevated amount”.

Ms Mallen’s GP at St David’s Clinic, where she had been since 2015, said Ms Mallen had a history of alcohol dependency dating back to 1998 and suffered from COPD.

He noted she had referred herself to Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service in 2018.

In her summing up, Ms Saunders said Ms Mallen had a history of alcohol dependency and respiratory issues which were contributory factors in her death.

The coroner concluded an alcohol-related death.