Mum found dead outside pub on Boxing Day caught hypothermia overnight

A ‘social’ mum with ‘everything to live for’ was found dead outside a Wigan pub after catching hypothermia, an inquest heard.

Victoria Cartwright, 36, had only been discharged from Wigan Hospital days earlier and was staying in a nearby hotel used as a homeless shelter. She was discovered by a passer-by lying face down on the ground outside the Ball and Boot pub on Boxing Day last year.

She had drunk 'excessive' amounts of alcohol and taken sedative medication before catching hypothermia, an inquest heard. A support worker who was based at the hotel attempted revive her with a defibrillator but she could not be saved.

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Bolton Coroner’s Court heard yesterday Victoria had suffered difficulties with battling alcoholism for a number of years following the breakdown of her marriage and difficulties surrounding the custody of her young son. The qualified hairdresser, of Bickershaw Lane, Wigan, had previously been referred to the care of alcohol recovery service We are With You in 2015, 2017 and 2018, before also completing a rehabilitation programme in 2020.

She had been admitted to hospital on November 10, last year, following welfare concerns, where Dr Prasad, of the Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, said she needed 24-hour care due to alcohol-induced brain damage. He added she was often ‘confused’ and was ‘struggling to take care of her personal care needs’.

Despite this, she was then discharged to the Mercure Hotel, which Dr Prasad deemed unsuitable. It was on December 21 that she was then readmitted to hospital again, where he said he reiterated the need for 24-hour care, however she was again let go again by the discharge team at the hospital.

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