A 72-YEAR-OLD woman died after dropping her lit cigarette into her bedding, an inquest heard.

Catherine (Kate) Raw had been drinking brandy and lager and had been helped into bed by two neighbours before the fire at her home in Wright Street, Sutton-in-Craven, near Keighley on December 13, last year.

She died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation. A toxicology report found she had drunk a relatively large amount of alcohol before her death and had 263 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, more than three times the legal limit for driving.

Yesterday's inquest at Skipton Magistrates Court heard that a lit cigarette was the undoubted cause of the fire, but it remained a mystery how it was ignited because there was no evidence of a lighter or matches in her room.

On the day of the fire, Mrs Raw had unusually been drinking brandy, on top of her usual cans of lager.

Coroner Rob Turnbull recorded a verdict of accidental death and said there was no doubt a lit cigarette had caused the fire that had led to Mrs Raw's death, but it would remain a mystery as to how it had been ignited.