A MOTHER left letters apologising to her daughter before taking her own life with a drug overdose, an inquest heard.

Yvonne Millis was found by her daughter, Chelsea Barton, at her home in Commercial Street, Oswaldtwistle, in July.

The inquest in Blackburn heard Ms Millis had suffered with depression for a long period and had taken five overdoses in the last eight years. The most recent one had come a few weeks before her death, coroner Richard Taylor said.

A scan taken by a consultant radiologist said that she had high levels of anti-depressants and other medication in her system along with minimal levels of alcohol and cocaine.

The medical cause of death was drug toxicity.

Speaking at the inquest, Mrs Barton said she had been misinformed by a friend her mother had been heard in the house the day before, which turned out to be untrue.

She said: “When I first went round I knew what she had done as she had obviously done it before.

“I saw a box, she had a medicine box, it was all neatly put away. I had a feeling.

“I did not see letters until the police brought them to me afterwards.”

The inquest heard in the letters Ms Millis apologised to her daughter for what she had done, saying “now you know I mean it.”

Mrs Barton said her mother never talked about killing herself, but when she had a drink she did say that she did not want to be here anymore.

She said her mother would text her when she had taken an overdose in the past.

She said: “The time before she talked about it when we were having drinks at a friend’s house.

“She took tablets and went to the living room. I rang an ambulance and the doctors kept her in hospital for a few days. We thought it was an attention thing. This time she had gone too far.”

The inquest heard Ms Millis had seen a GP in May and discussed anxiety and depression, and it seemed her symptoms had worsened, however there were no suicidal thoughts.

The inquest heard blister packs of tablets were found near the body in a clear plastic box and the letters were found in the living room.

In his conclusion Mr Taylor said Ms Millis’ death was suicide.

He said: “The evidence is she has taken different tablets that ended her life.

“This seems to me there was some intention, she wanted to be found previously. This time, she did intend in ending her life.”