I’d taken her to a pub, the incident happened minutes after arriving at Poulton's Indian restaurant Dalvi's

An inquest has heard a 50-year-old woman from Blackpool died after tragically falling down the stairs at a Poulton restaurant.

Karen Teresa Taylor, worked at a Poulton Booths store and was a fit and healthy woman who enjoyed running in her spare time.

On Friday February 23, the 50-year-old, who lived on Beaufort Avenue in Blackpool, was out for an evening meal with friends at an Indian restaurant named Dalvi’s in Poulton-le-Fylde.

The inquest hearing heard Mrs Taylor and her friends were sitting on the second floor of the restaurant to accommodate the larger size of their group so Karen went to use the staircase to use the bathroom.

This was when tragedy struck as, after a few steps, she slipped and fell down the stairs sustaining major injuries.

Ambulance crews were called to the restaurant and Mrs Taylor was taken to the critical care unit at Royal Preston Hospital for urgent treatment.

Sadly she was unable to recover from her injuries and died in hospital the following week on March 1.

Dr. Kalburgi, who was part of the team that looked after Mrs Taylor whilst she was in hospital said that the medical cause of death was a traumatic haemorrhage.

At the inquest held at Preston Coroner’s Court today, Simon Clark, a Health Enforcement Officer for Wyre Council was called as a witness.

Speaking about his responsibility to ensure workplace safety and his investigation into the incident, he said: “We had no information on when the handrail on the staircase was put in place but it was noted as being two feet short at both the top and bottom.

“It could be argued that the stairs should’ve had a second handrail as waiters and the passage of food and drink could lead to spillages.

“It is my view that there should’ve been another handrail and the shortened length of the handrail posed a risk.”

Mr Clark ordered the restaurant to have this work done and the work had been completed when he visited at the start of the month.

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In a statement read out to the court, Matt Taylor, husband of Karen said: “She was fit and healthy as she did a lot of running and she never seemed to have any problems with her balance.

“I’d taken her to a nearby pub beforehand but she wasn’t there for long and the incident happened only 10 to 15 minutes after arriving at the restaurant so she hadn’t had an excessive amount to drink.”

Coroner Richard Taylor recorded his verdict of accidential death, he said: “Karen Taylor went out for an evening with mates and wasn’t intending to drink much as she had planned to run the day after.

“Before her fall, Karen had managed to descend around ten steps so I can’t put blame on the handrail but instead I’m ruling this as an accident.”

Addressing Mr. Taylor in the courtroom, Richard Taylor said: “I’d just like to offer my condolences and I’m just so sorry you’ve had to relive this tragic event.”