THERE are clear differences of opinion over the disturbing case of Marjorie Birtwhistle, the 79-year-old who starved herself to death in a warden-monitored flat.

As far as Teesside coroner Michael Sheffield is concerned, Mrs Birtwhistle was a victim of neglect by the social services system in Middlesbrough.

Mr Sheffield's damning allegation is strenuously denied by Middlesbrough Council, which insists that care staff did their best to support her but their offers of help were rejected.

We accept that finding the right balance between care of the elderly and respect for their independence is difficult. At what point should care staff override the wishes of an elderly person and intervene?

It is a fine line, but it surely cannot be right that a 79-year-old woman should get down to just four stones in weight without action being taken.

We do not doubt that efforts were made to help Mrs Birtwhistle. But the fact remains that she died in circumstances that none of us would wish for ourselves or our loved ones.

The purpose of an inquest is to establish the cause of someone's death. In ruling that Marjorie Birtwhistle died of pneumonia resulting from starvation, Teesside's coroner has ruled that there was a case of "system neglect".

In the light of that conclusion, we hope at the very least that procedures are reviewed and lessons learned from this extremely sad case.