A FORMER bookmaker's clerk, who had a long history of alcohol problems, was found dead on the bathroom floor of her Gloucester bungalow, an inquest heard.

The body of wealthy divorcee Georgina Gale, 59, of Camden Road, Tuffley, was found by friend Peter Doddschater on April 27 this year.

Mr Doddschater said he visited Mrs Gale on a daily basis after her mother died four years ago and she turned to drink. Mr Doddschater said he and his wife got on well with her and that her drinking made her vulnerable and in need of support.

For a period of five or six months, she did not drink at all but turned to alcohol again about two years ago after receiving a telephone call that upset her, he said.

Mr Doddschater said she was drinking up to a bottle of vodka a day. He bought the alcohol for her as he said as it gave him some control over the problem and other friends would have got it for her anyway. He said Mrs Gale suffered lapses of memory, her personality changed when drinking, she became aggressive, had no pride in her appearance or dignity and would often sleep on the floor.

Mr Doddschater said he did all her shopping and cooked her meals.

On April 27 he discovered her body lying on the bathroom floor.

He could not detect a pulse and tried to resuscitate her, and when paramedics arrived they discovered she was dead.

Another friend, David Howells, told the inquest that he did not buy alcohol for Mrs Gale and on occasions she had hidden bottles from him by throwing them over her garden fence.

Social worker Serena Shorland said social services had come into contact with Mrs Gale during the care of her mother and had expressed concerns at her low weight and her drinking.

However, Miss Shorland said Mrs Gale refused to acknowledge she had any problems and it made helping her difficult.

A post mortem examination carried out by consultant pathologist Dr Pritti Joshi revealed a low body weight and 430mg of alcohol per decilitre of urine and 289mg of alcohol per decilitre of blood.

She gave the cause of death as ketoacidosis and alcohol intoxication.

Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore said Mrs Gale was vulnerable, badly affected by her dependence on alcohol and prone to making unwise decisions.

He said there was nothing to suggest that any of her unwise decisions in the days before her death had affected the final outcome.

"I am satisfied that she was alcohol dependant for a long period of time," he said, as he recorded a verdict that Mrs Gale died of the effects of alcohol dependency.