The full truth behind the death of a Walton woman may never be known, after the freezer storing blood samples taken after her death broke down.

Coroner Belinda Cheney concluded Jacqueline Hansen, of Trafalgar Drive, Walton, died as a result of an accident, possibly after tripping on a vacuum cleaner and falling down the stairs.

She had struggled with alcohol problems, but it was not clear if she was drunk at the time, due to the faulty storage, but coroner Cheney said she was sure there was no third party involvement.

A man in his 60s from Weybridge was arrested on suspicion of murder when 56-year-old Ms Hansen’s body was found on June 11, 2014, at the home she shared with her son. He was released on bail and the murder investigation was eventually dropped.

He had alerted police to check on Ms Hansen, because he had not her from her in weeks.

They met at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, months earlier and became close friends who would often meet up and drink together.

He went to her home and, when she did not answer, asked a neighbour to write down his new phone number - he could not do it himself because he was intoxicated - and post it through her letter box. The next day, still concerned, he called the police.

A statement from Ms Hansen’s only child, Sean, 22, was read out at Woking Coroner’s Court. In it he said his mother had been doing well before he left to go travelling in Croatia.

He last received a message from her on Facebook on June 1, checking up on him and arranging a time to Skype. On June 12 he had a message from Surrey Police asking him to get in touch. He flew home the next day after being told his mother had died.

He said his father was murdered, and said of his mother: "It was just the two of us."

He said he often had flashbacks to when he returned home and had to clean up blood, and said: "I just hope the coroners can answer my questions. All these things are playing on my mind."

Coroner Cheney said she could not comment on Ms Hansen’s level of alcohol at the time because the samples had to be thrown away.

She also could not comment on how she had come to fall down the stairs, but the policeman who found her body noted a vacuum cleaner at the top of the stairs and some small picture frames underneath her.

She told Ms Hansen’s son told him he had coped remarkably and said: "[It was a] tragic accident that’s no more or less than that."