AN ELDERLY woman who lost her husband and then her eldest son felt life was no longer worth living and killed herself, an inquest heard. Lily Bateman, 82, of Burns Close, Eaton Ford, died at Hinchingbrooke Hospital on November 3 after taking an overdose

AN ELDERLY woman who lost her husband and then her eldest son felt life was no longer worth living and killed herself, an inquest heard.

Lily Bateman, 82, of Burns Close, Eaton Ford, died at Hinchingbrooke Hospital on November 3 after taking an overdose of paracetamol. She was found unconscious in bed at home by her son.

Her son, Robert Bateman, told an inquest in Huntingdon that his mother had a history of depression following the death of his father and then the death of his older brother.

"She continually thought my father was coming back one day. All his clothes were folded up neatly on the cupboard waiting for him to return."

The inquest also heard how the last thing Lily Bateman said to her son before she died was "I'm sorry."

The coroner, Colin Lattimore, was told that Mrs Bateman, a retired bank clerk, suffered constant pain from a number of health problems and had attempted suicide in 1992.

She had also had heart attacks in 1992 and 1997 and suffered from insomnia.

In recording a verdict of suicide, Dr Lattimore said: "Lily's depression started from when her husband died. At 82, she was still of a sound mind but she was in pain on a daily basis.

"She reached the point where she felt life just wasn't worth living any more. She killed herself while suffering from a depressive illness.