A POPULAR teenage girl died after taking a combination of her mum's heart tablets and paracetamol pills.

Amelia Pilkington mistook the heart drugs for powerful painkillers which her mum Beverley took for period cramps, an inquest was told.

But instead of easing her pain the drugs caused the 16-year-old's blood pressure to drop dramatically and altered the rhythm of her heart causing it to stop. When the pretty Holgate pupil was found she had blood around her mouth and nose.

Beverley, of Kingwell Road, Worsbrough, told the inquest she had gone into Amelia's bedroom on the morning of Sunday, February 24, and found her on the floor.

She said: "I couldn't really see her fully until I went over and bent down. I moved the hair from her face and I knew there was something drastically wrong." Paramedics could not save Amelia.

Yesterday's hearing was told how Amelia suffered severe menstrual pains and had previously asked Beverley if it was okay to take four paracetamol instead of the recommended two. She had been told 'no'.

Beverley suffered similar pains and was prescribed drugs to ease them; she also took flecainide - a drug which treats abnormally fast rhythms of the heart. Amelia had been having bad pains the week she died and got the two drugs mixed up.

When asked if Amelia had been depressed, Beverley said: "No." She said she had a large circle of friends and went out regularly. All the messages on her MySpace website were light-hearted and about having fun.

The day before she died she had been out shopping with a group of friends. Her mum had also found a diary which did not include anything which suggested Amelia had been unhappy. No note was found indicating she had intended to kill herself.

Deputy assistant coroner Naomi Cuthbert said: "We clearly have a happy girl. A well adjusted girl who was not bullied at school, who had a wide circle of friends, who kept a diary with no entries of concern."

The was no suicide note and Amelia had not been depressed, said Ms Cuthbert. "She did take the pills but I do not find she intended to kill herself."

Verdict: misadventure.