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An obese woman did not move from her sofa even to use the toilet for months leading up to her death, an inquest heard.

Kelly Kurton, of Vale Crescent, in Tilehurst, was just 25 when she died of blood poisoning on May 22, last year.

The case was described as shocking by Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford at the inquest at Reading Civic Centre on Tuesday.

The young woman developed ulcers all over her body which became infected after she sat in her own urine and excrement for an “uncertain” period of time.

Miss Kurton was admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) on Tuesday, May 7, after intervention from Reading Borough Council and the police.

Five days earlier police had been called to her address where she lived with her mother, aunt and her mother’s boyfriend.

While inspecting the property, which Sergeant Alexander Poole said was littered with rubbish and generally smelt, he discovered Miss Kurton lying on the sofa.

Sgt Poole described her as being covered by a duvet, grossly overweight and smelling of urine.

Miss Kurton reassured the officer she was fine. He did not feel she needed immediate medical help but made a referral to social services.

Helen Smart a social worker from Reading Borough Council visited Miss Kurton on the Tuesday she was taken to hospital.

During the visit Miss Kurton said she had been on the sofa a month because of problems with her legs and said she had become depressed after her son was taken into care.

It was decided a GP needed to visit Miss Kurton immediately.

She did not co-operate with the doctor so an ambulance was called and Miss Kirton was taken to RBH.

Senior staff nurse in the RBH’s A&E department Alison Eatwell reported in a statement read to the court that Miss Kurton’s clothes were stained with food, blood, vomit, urine and faeces.

After being examined by a doctor Miss Kurton was taken to the shower room and washed for about an hour.

In her statement Ms Eatwell said: “I have never seen in my career any one in such a poor state of care. I have never seen such extreme bed sores or pressure sores on anyone so young.”

On May 17 Miss Kurton received another visit from Ms Smart and police while in hospital. She told them she had stayed on the sofa because she thought the problem with her leg would get better on its own and she had not wanted anyone to call the doctor.

Miss Kurton’s family and boyfriend were interviewed by police.

During the interview Miss Kurton’s mother Janette Dunn said she had not got medical help because her daughter had said she did not want it.

Ms Dunn said she had washed her daughter and attempted to clear up when she urinated and defecated on herself.

Miss Kurton’s aunt, Tina Kirton, said Miss Kirton had threatened to hurt her if she got help. She told police she thought her niece had been on the sofa for 18 months but said it was not her job to get help.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue a criminal case.

A post-mortem report from pathologist Dr Robert Chapman gave the cause of death as sepsis due to the contamination of ulcerated areas with bowel contents.

The examination found Miss Kurton weighed 16 stone 12 lbs when she died and her body was covered with ulcers and deep lacerations. Swabs taken from the wounds showed they were infected with septicemia.

Before recording a narrative verdict, Mr Bedford described the “traumatic” evidence as “nothing short of shocking”.

He continued: “What is clear from observations is that Kelly lived in a household surrounded by a dysfunctional family.

“Kelly is reported as having lived in squalor on a sofa at her home, for a significant, but uncertain period of time, being no longer able to mobilise due to leg problems and obesity.

“Offers of medical help were refused by Kelly and no action was taken by her family to secure medical help against her wishes.

“There was no definitive evidence of Kelly’s mental capacity and a mental assessment was not able to be completed before her death.”