THE exact cause of death of a woman who died on New Year's Eve 1999 will never be certain, an inquest heard yesterday.

Judith Gallagher, 46, from York Square, Shildon, died on December 31 after four months in a coma.

The inquest into the death of the former clerk, who suffered from asthma and diabetes, was reopened at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Relatives heard that the cause of her death was likely to have been low blood sugar, or a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Consultant pathologist Clive Bloxham said that in addition into his own inquiry, he had also consulted a specialist neurologist to try to establish what brought on the coma.

Dr Bloxham said: "The best we can do is to say she did suffer a loss of brain matter cells, down to either a lack of oxygen or hypoglycaemia; very low blood sugar.

"We can't distinguish between these two."

Darlington and South West Durham Coroner Colin Penna told relatives he had to record her death as due to natural causes.

"There's always questions going to be in your minds. Dr Bloxham's research has at least taken it quite a long way further along that road."