AN educational advisor may have fallen into a fast-flowing river while trying to retrieve a canoe and plant pots during a heavy storm, an inquest heard.

Mrs Valerie Weston, aged 57, of Chapel Terrace, Irwell Vale, had only just received the all-clear from breast cancer, before her tragic fall into the River Irwell on March 30, Burnley Coroner's Court heard.

She had been sharing a glass of wine with friends shortly before her disappearance, ahead of a camping holiday to Shell Island in North Wales.

Mrs Weston, who worked for Lancashire County Council, was found by a police patrol on April 1, after her son Joseph had raised the alarm.

Her sister Janet Berkon said: "She was a very happy person who had lots of friends. Around 400 people turned up for her funeral, which surprised us a little."

Her brother Neil Simms added: "She had just had an extension built at the side of the house, which overlooked the river. She lived for her family and hosting gatherings there."

He told the hearing that the family believed she had gone to retrieve the canoe or plant pots and had been swept off her feet by the stormy weather.

The inquest heard that on the day of her death she had been giving lifts to a neighbour and her daughter Sandra Longworth.

Recording an accidental verdict, East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor said there was no question that the high winds had caused Mrs Weston's fall.

"She seems to me to have been a most interesting person who had everything to live for, who was planning a trip the next day," added Mr Taylor.