Mum, 46, died after hair extensions caught fire when she lit a cigarette, inquest told

A MOTHER died when her hair extensions caught fire after she lit a cigarette, an inquest heard.

Tracy Ann Gardiner Synthetic hair It is believed parts caught fire while she was in the kitchen.

The 46-year-old woman then went to bed, where the extension cords dripped onto her clothes and the bed – causing a fire.

Tracy was discovered in a smoke-filled room in County Durham and was pronounced dead at the scene.

An inquest found the mother of two was drunk when the Horror happened last October.

Neighbors They bravely tried to reach Tracy, but were blocked by clouds of thick black smoke.

David Bennett told Crook Coroners’ Court he first tried to knock to alert his mother, but went in through the back door when he got no response.

He added: “I ran to the bottom of the stairs and looked up.

“I noticed heavy black smoke at the top. I was confused, but I thought it was too dangerous to climb.”

He was then joined by dogwalker Stuart Tinnion, who was forced to give up the rescue attempt as smoke filled the stairwell.

Firefighters arrived and fought the blaze using specialist breathing apparatus before finding Tracy in her bed.

The cause of death was given as the effects of fire and acute alcohol poisoning.

Craig Jewkes, head of fire investigation at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Tracy lit a cigarette, possibly on or around the kitchen table, unfortunately it got caught in part of her wig or synthetic hair and she moved into the hallway.

“The hair stopped burning in the sense that it was no longer dripping onto the floor, but dripping onto her clothes.

“The burning synthetic hair fell onto his clothes. We didn’t find any marks from falling down the stairs, but we found them on his clothes.

“That’s the only cause we can directly identify it for.”

Assistant Coroner Rebecca Sutton recorded a verdict of misfortune.

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