A FARMER'S wife who had lived on farms all her life died after suffering from 'farmer's lung', an inquest heard.

An inquest held at North Yorkshire County Council's offices in Northallerton, on Thursday, January 9, heard Bessie Maureen Richardson died aged 88 on August 19, 2019, at Faceby, North Yorkshire.

Mrs Richardson was diagnosed with extrinsic allergic alveolitis, a lung disorder resulting from repeated inhalation of organic dust, usually in a specific occupational setting, in 2013.

Assistant coroner Jonathan Heath heard Mrs Richardson had kept various birds as pets both indoors and outdoors for many years, which could have contributed to her condition.

As a child during the Second World War, she also spent a lot of time in an air raid shelter, which was dusty and damp.

From July 2017, Mrs Richardson had long term home oxygen treatment, and in August 2019, her condition had deteriorated.

Her daughter was at her side shortly before her death.