The husband of former heroin addict Jacqui Head paid tribute to the way she fought to give up drink and drugs – only to succumb again to drink.

Mrs Head, 51, was found dead in her home in Chiminage Close, Marlborough, by her 13-year-old son Jack after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs, an inquest heard.

But the hearing in Trowbridge yesterday decided her death had been a tragic accident.

Ian Singleton, assistant deputy coroner for Wiltshire, recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Her husband Andy, 57, said she loved her son so much she would never have tried to end her own life.

He said: “Jacqui had three things she loved most in life, Jack, me and her parrot. She was a lovely lady who wanted everyone to love her in return.

“Although her mother and father always told her she was a loser she rose above that, although she always lacked confidence for the rest of her life.

“She loved cuddling people and she loved being happy and the happy times. She had so many friends in Marlborough.”

The inquest heard Mrs Head was found collapsed on June 29 last year. Paramedics confirmed she was dead.

Mr Head told the court that after an argument the previous evening he went off in his camper van to give his wife a chance to calm down.

The inquest heard Mrs Head had been a heroin addict since she was 16 and an alcoholic but Mr Head said she gave up heroin before they married in 1998 and had given up alcohol for some years but started drinking again the year before her death.

Mr Head told the hearing she had been drinking heavily the night before.

He said his wife had collected her weekly prescribed tablets the previous day. He said, he had known her take all of them in one go in the past with little effect.

She had been taking dihydrocodeine painkillers for sciatica but Mr Head was concerned when her GP put her on methadone, the heroin substitute instead.

Pathologist Dr Darko Lazic said tests showed Mrs Head had died as a result of taking alcohol and a cocktail of drugs together.

PC Ivor Noyce said she left no note. “It is unlikely we will know if Jacqui took an overdose to take her own life or if it was in confusion she took an accidental overdose,” he said.

The coroner said: “I find on the balance of probabilities that this was an accidental overdose.”

Mr Head paid tribute to the way his wife had turned her life around.

At 16 she was given her first heroin fix and at 17 was admitted to a rehab clinic.

Mr Head said he believed his wife stayed away from drugs after they married despite attempts to lure her back by other users.

He said: “She had every reason to live and enjoy the happiness we had together.”