A NORTH Yorkshire mother-of-two, whose body was found in a garden almost two months after she went missing, died from alcohol and paracetamol poisoning.

Jo Paines, 39, of Wetherby Road, Harrogate, was found in the shrubs of a garden in Wetherby Road, only a few hundred yards away from her home, on January 8, an inquest at Harrogate Magistrates Court heard.

Mrs Paines, who worked at the Shelter shop in Commercial Street, Harrogate, had disappeared from her home on the afternoon of November 19.

Geoff Fell, the acting coroner for Harrogate, said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death and there was no suggestion that a third person was involved.

Judith Hardy, who discovered Mrs Paine's body in her garden, said that she noticed the shrubbery had been disturbed.

She walked into the shrubs and saw an empty vodka bottle and a round heap, which at first glance looked like a sleeping bag.

Mrs Hardy fetched her husband, who discovered the mound was a body. After calling to the person in an attempt to wake them up, he called the police.

Mr Fell said Mrs Paine had called her husband on the evening she disappeared and had sounded confused and possibly drunk. She had been unable to say where she was except that it was wooded.

Police launched a widespread search of the area, which was eventually extended nationwide.

He said: "She was a woman with a history of clinical depression and alcohol abuse and also periods of self-harm."

Post-mortem examinations revealed she had taken a significant quantity of paracetamol and also a considerable amount of alcohol.

"Her blood alcohol level was five times that allowed for driving," he said.

Mr Fell said he believed Mrs Paine had died either on the night of November 19 or in the early hours of the next day. He recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

He added: "I have no evidence that it was Mrs Paine's intention to take her own life. But she did embark on a course of action that caused her death."

Updated: 11:05 Tuesday, April 08, 2003