A pensioner fell to her death from a care home roof after escaping through a disused fire door with a faulty alarm, an inquest heard.

Jean Herring, 86, plunged to the ground at Grosvenor Court in Margate, where she was discovered by police officers three hours after her disappearance had sparked a desperate search by staff.

An inquest into her death was told Mrs Herring, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, had earlier tried to leave the home through the main entrance at 7.30pm on January 29.

But the doors were locked and she was told by carers she could not go outside into the sub-zero temperatures.

Mrs Herring, who was said to have "good capacity and hazard perception", sat down in an office with staff before leaving 10 minutes later and getting into a lift, pressing the alarm while inside.

When concerned staff went to check the lift, it was empty.

Carers started room-by-room searches and were even told to check in cupboards throughout the home, but Mrs Herring could not be found.

It was only when police were called shortly before midnight that she was discovered on the ground outside by officers in an alleyway between the main building and an extension.

Above was the flat roof landing area she had fallen from.

PC Beatrice Checker said: "It's a very small area of roof, a very small square. It's not what you would associate with being beyond a fire escape door."

Footage from the home's CCTV system was reviewed by officers, but only covered the first, third and fifth floors and not the upper ground level, where Mrs Herring fell to her death.

It last showed her leaving her room and visiting a neighbour before heading back to the lift.

Statements from several staff members said they had believed Mrs Herring was still in the building because the main doors were locked and could only be opened using codes, which residents did not know.

They also said the fire escapes - including the door used by Mrs Herring - were alarmed and would have alerted them if someone used them to get outside.

But the alarm on the door used by Mrs Herring did not sound.

The hearing was told it may have been due to a power cut earlier in the day, with it said that managers were reportedly aware of an issue which was waiting to be fixed.

Chloe Skivington-Walker, a healthcare assistant at Grosvenor Court, told the hearing at Canterbury Coroner's Court about the search for Mrs Herring.

"She was not in her room,” she said.

“She was having an off day and was snapping at people but nothing concerned me about her. I've been there two years and never gone to that door."

A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Herring had suffered a serious head wound and died from multiple injuries.

The inquest was adjourned because of pressures on court time.

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