An elderly woman died after lying helpless outside her home overnight in rain and near-freezing temperatures for more than 12 hours after a fall.

Alma Pochin, 83, was found in her back garden by her milkman, but it was too late to save her.

She was taken to hospital, but died of hypothermia.

At an inquest at Leicester Town Hall yesterday, coroner Malcolm Gotheridge recorded a verdict of accidental death, describing the incident as "tragic".

He said: "It's a horrible thought of her lying in the filthy weather, near her back door, for what was well in excess of 12 hours before she was discovered."

Miss Pochin, of Holyoake Street, Enderby, is thought to have fallen over as she returned home from shopping the day before. She had dislocated her thighbone in the fall and could not move.

After the hearing, her cousin, Thelma Brooks, of Narborough, said: "To be out in the cold and rain all night is shocking.

"I was amazed and frustrated that nobody had noticed.

"It was a terrible shock for me and I could not believe it when I was told."

Mrs Brooks had last seen her cousin at about 11.45am on March 27 last year, when she went round for coffee.

Milkman Kevin Murray, 57, of Ratby Road, Groby, found her the next morning. He ran to a nearby house to ask someone to call the ambulance.

He told the inquest: "Her groceries were scattered all around her and both her shoes had come off. She was flat on her back and barely breathing. It looked as though she had been trying to get up.

"It had been terrible weather all night and it had been bitterly cold.

"I took my coat off to cover her and kept talking to her until the ambulance arrived."

Neighbour Karen Bentley, 36, helped Mr Murray look after Miss Pochin until paramedics arrived.

She told the coroner that at first they did not realise she had fallen the day before and had been lying there all night.

After the hearing, she said: "Alma was a really lovely lady who was friendly with everyone. We all liked her.

"It was so sad. She always went in and out through her back door, but if she had used the front, we would have seen her and this would have been prevented.

"We all watch out for each other here and it's such a shame that nobody could see her in trouble."