A family complained to a coroner after an official report suggested a mother had been 40 times the drink-drive limit when she died – when it should have said four.

Susan Hayward was found unresponsive on the floor of her flat in Basing Close, Maidstone, on February 27, with a partially-drunk bottle of vodka next to her.

Ambulance staff confirmed the 59-year-old had died.

An inquest at Archbishop’s Palace was told post-mortem tests revealed she had died due to acute alcohol toxicity having consumed more than four times the drink-drive limit, paired with alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a disease linked to long-term alcohol abuse.

Assistant coroner Katrina Hepburn, who dismissed suicide as a cause, concluded her death was alcohol related.

After the proceedings, she turned to the complaint made by the family about the coroner service. They had picked up on a number of errors in the paperwork as well as unanswered telephone calls.

Mrs Hayward’s son, Nathan, said: “Initially they sent a report out saying that mum was a 53-year-old male. Obviously she wasn’t, she was my mum.”

"It’s not uncommon to have families try to call, and the phones just ring and ring and ring..."Katrina Hepburn, assistant coroner

The typo in a toxicology report had referred to her being “40 times” the legal limit, which “is a horrendous amount”, said Nathan, whose pleas for updates on the case also appeared to fall on deaf ears.

Despite a second, amended copy being sent, the typo saying ‘40’ and not ‘four’ was unchanged, contrary to the family liaison officer’s assurance that all was correct.

Responding, Ms Hepburn said: “I can assure you this is something the managers are taking up. It’s very clear there’s been numerous attempts by the family to get in contact which have gone unanswered.

“It’s not uncommon to have families try to call, and the phones just ring and ring and ring. This is a problem with the service that the council is trying to address.”

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