St Neots: Woman took her life after tv drama

AN Eynesbury woman suffering from multiple sclerosis decided to take her own life after seeing a BBC drama about euthanasia starring Julie Walters, an inquest heard on Thursday. Angela Harrison, 44, took an overdose of paracetamol, codeine and oxybutynin

AN Eynesbury woman suffering from multiple sclerosis decided to take her own life after seeing a BBC drama about euthanasia starring Julie Walters, an inquest heard on Thursday.

Angela Harrison, 44, took an overdose of paracetamol, codeine and oxybutynin and died on January 28. The hearing at Huntingdon law courts heard that her battle with MS had brought on depression, and that she had frequently spoken with her children of her desire to end her life before her condition became debilitating.

The inquest was told that Ms Harrison had had suicidal thoughts, but had been planning a holiday on a cruise ship in the days before her overdose. "I think she had decided a long time ago that she would take her own life when the time came," said her brother Frank Harrison. "I think what brought it on that night was watching that Julie Walters play on television."

He said Ms Harrison had led a fulfilling life in her early days, before the onset of MS led to a loss of independence, and left her needing a wheelchair at times. "She fought against being wheelchair bound, by having handrails fitted around her house in Cook Drive, Eynesbury.

Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner David Morris said: "She took her own life when her experience of a rapidly deteriorating and disabling condition reached an intolerable stage.