AN elderly woman died as the result of complications from a broken spine sustained while attempting to herd sheep.

Margaret Bankes was found by her daughter Caroline Young outside her home in Petersfield Road, Hinton Ampner, on the evening of October 5.

Mrs Young had returned from the local fish and chip shop after leaving her mother watching TV, to find her missing.

After a quick search of the grounds she found her mother lying in the nearby paddock and called an ambulance.

Winchester Coroners’ Court heard that the 84-year-old had been diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and had a fondness for looking after the sheep.

Her daughter said she believed her mother had fallen over a tussock while trying to heard the sheep, which she was “obsessed with”.

“She told me she thought the sheep would be happier at the other end of the field and decided to get them to move,” she said.

Mrs Bankes was rushed to Royal Hampshire County Hospital complaining of neck pain, with scans later revealing that she had fractured her spine.

Despite the doctors’ best efforts, Mrs Bankes’ condition quickly deteriorated and she passed away in hospital on October 7.

Senior coroner Grahame Short concluded that Mrs Banks’ death was accidental.

Her family paid tribute saying: “We miss her so very much.”