The efforts of a west Cumbrian woman who died after trying to save her partner's life have been commended by a coroner at an inquest into their deaths.

William Nixon Reid, 67, and Kathryn Rhona Workman, 70, died after an incident near their home in High Seaton on October 22, 2017.

Coroner Simon Ward concluded Mr Reid died as a result of an accident, while he recorded a verdict of misadventure for Mrs Workman.

The two-day inquest in Cockermouth heard that the couple, who were classic car enthusiasts, had been attempting to store one of their Mercedes in a large plastic bag to protect it during the winter.

Mr Reid was attempting to reverse the car into the bag with help from Mrs Workman in a garage near their home.

However Mr Reid was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes and became unconscious.

Mrs Workman called an ambulance and the call handler initially told her to keep away from the area due to the risk of carbon monoxide intoxication. Mr Ward said that while confusion around the circumstances of the incident and the location of the casualties meant a delay in emergency services arriving at the scene, it was unlikely either of them would have survived.

Evidence heard at the inquest revealed that the North West Ambulance Service call handler had initially told Mrs Workman to keep away from the area affected by the carbon monoxide, however she later told her to get as near as possible to her partner to help him. However Mr Ward said Mrs Workman had told the handler she was going back into the bag to help her partner of her own initiative.

He said: "I'm satisfied she would have still tried to help Mr Reid irrespective of the instructions of the call handler. Mrs Workman was aware she may become unconscious. My view is she would have still tried to help him and that's credit to her dedication to their relationship."

The inquest heard post-mortems found Mr Reid had died from poisoning by carbon monoxide, while Mrs Workman had died by hypoxic brain injury due to poisoning by carbon monoxide. She died in hospital two days after the incident.

When paramedics arrived at the scene, Mrs Workman was suffering from a cardiac arrest. Expert advice during the investigation into the deaths revealed the chances of survival after a cardiac arrest due to carbon monoxide intoxication to be very low.

Mr Ward added: "Mrs Workman would have done all she could to help Mr Reid irrespective of her own safety."

Mrs Workman had started her working life in teaching, before becoming a computer programmer and then moving to an admin role. She was involved with the U3A, the Women's Institute and shared the passion for classic Mercedes Benz cars with her partner. Mr Reid was a retired long-distance lorry driver. Mr Ward said the couple were enjoying their retirement. He said: "They were very happy together."