Mystery surrounds the death of a 59-year-old woman whose body was found decomposing at her house in Bristol.

Jennifer Moss was believed to have been dead for up to a week when she was found by police officers, who broke into her home in Oak Road, Horfield, in April last year, an inquest heard.

The hearing in Flax Bourton was told that divorcee Ms Moss, who had a history of mental health problems, had been in the care of social services but had refused to let social workers into her home when they came to check on her.

Coroner Terence Moore recorded an open verdict into Ms Moss' death because a post-mortem examination failed to establish what had caused her to pass away.

The inquest was told neighbours of Ms Moss became concerned when they had not seen her for several days and complained of a strong smell coming from her property.

Police were called, forced their way into the house and discovered Ms Moss dead on the sofa in her lounge on April 4 last year.

Pathologist Dr Hugh White, who carried out the post-mortem, said the cause of death was unascertained.

The hearing was told Ms Moss had been addicted to amphetamines and had sometimes become delusional.

Mr Moore was told she had only returned to live in Oak Road shortly before she died and had previously used a false name to secure a bed at Trinity Lodge hostel for homeless women.

Ms Moss' social worker Richard Thomas said an outreach team had tried to work with her for three years and that support was ongoing at the time of her death.

He said social workers had called around at her home on April 2 but got no response.

They had called around a few days earlier, when Ms Moss spoke to social workers through the door but did not let them in.

The inquest into her death started in February but was stopped when her siblings disputed whether Ms Moss was the woman who had been found dead in the house.

Her identity was later confirmed when DNA taken from her body matched DNA found in a mouth swab taken from her daughter Amanda.

Concluding the case, Mr Moore said: "We don't know when she died but we know she was certified dead on April 4, 2008. The medical cause of death remains unascertained. It leaves me in a situation where the evidence doesn't support one verdict over another, so there's only one choice left and that's an open verdict."