A 25-YEAR-OLD security guard with a history of epilepsy died in her sleep, an inquest heard.

Sarah Ryland, from Cheltenham, who was engaged to be married, had stopped taking medication to control her epilepsy in a bid to get pregnant.

However, the county's deputy coroner, David Dooley, who recorded a verdict of death by natural causes, said even if Sarah had taken the drugs, there was no guarantee she would not have died.

Her death was attributed to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, SUDEP, which claims up to 1,000 lives every year.

Mr Dooley said: "All the evidence suggests it was more important to her to become pregnant even after hearing about SUDEP."

Sarah's family raised concerns that she had not received enough information about the condition, but these were dismissed by Mr Dooley.

He said: "She did not want her family involved in the decision and decided to keep it from them to avoid pressure."

The court heard how bubbly Sarah had an infectious laugh and loved life. She was dedicated to her family and doted on her sister, stepsister and stepbrother.

She lived with her partner, Gareth Evans, in Lynworth Place and died there on March 1 last year.

She was buried in her pre-purchased wedding dress.

The inquest heard Sarah first suffered an epileptic fit when she was 10 in 1995.

She had only seven more known attacks in the rest of her short life, all of them at night while she was asleep.

Mr Dooley was told she had died from a combination of circumstances that leave no trace, so SUDEP was likely to be the cause.

Her father Alan Ryland told the inquest he did not think Sarah fully understood the dangers of SUDEP.

He said: "It is a recognised danger but I do not believe this was impressed upon her."

However, the coroner was told Sarah had seen both an epilepsy nurse as well as another specialist.

The nurse, Sue Higgins, said it had been clear Sarah did not want to take medication.

She said: "We had a long discussion about nocturnal epilepsy and SUDEP.

"As well as giving her an information pack, I sent further information in the post and gave her my contact number so she could get in touch."

Earlier, her partner Gareth Evans had said when the extra information arrived at their home, it had disappeared.

He said: "The doctor said the medication could affect her fertility and she decided she would not have it."