The family of a UK woman who accidentally died while performing a webcam sex show have slammed the online porn industry.

Hope Barden died in her Burton flat last March and a post-mortem report revealed the cause of death was asphyxiation.

The 21-year-old's day job was caring for people with learning disabilities, but she regularly performed live sex acts on camera for online customers.

Hope Barden died while performing a dangerous webcam sex show for a regular online client. (Staffordshire Police)

Investigators collected her mobile phone as evidence and found that she had a client from Cornwall who regularly encouraged her to perform “degrading and dangerous” sex acts for the three months leading up to her death.

Police arrested Jerome Dangar two months after the young woman’s death.

They discovered the 45-year-old was online when Ms Barden died and made no attempt to call for help, the Evening Standard reported.

He was jailed on separate pornography charges and police considered charging him with manslaughter but he died in his jail cell earlier this year while the investigation was ongoing.

At an inquest into the mental health graduate’s death, Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh concluded she was unlawfully killed.

Following the result, Ms Barden’s mother Kate issued a statement through Staffordshire Police.

“Hope was a beautiful, intelligent young woman,” her mother said.

“She had completed her foundation degree in adolescent mental health and was a carer for people with learning disabilities.

“Hope had been earning extra money working in the online adult film industry.”

Ms Barden’s mother is now petitioning for better regulation in the online porn industry and is working with UK police to educate officers on sensitively dealing with similar circumstances in the future.

“(online porn) serves no one except those who wish to perpetrate violence against women,” Ms Barden’s mother said.

She said her daughter became the subject of interest of a regular user who paid her to perform sexual acts on herself that escalated into dangerous and degrading situations.

Hope Barden's family are calling for better regulation for the online porn industry after she was killed performing a dangerous act during a webcam show. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"We are sorely disappointed that this case can no longer bring any legal justice for Hope. Had this gone to court, this would be a landmark case, the first of its kind in the UK,” she said.

She said anyone with relatives who work in the industry needs to be aware of the risks and should have a duty of care to step in if there are warning signs.

Detective Inspector John Quilty said the type of sexual activity Ms Barden was doing online is extremely dangerous and further charges would have been laid against Dangar if he was still alive.