A grandmother from Bicester plunged to her death from a holiday apartment balcony while she was visiting her son in Spain, an inquest heard.

Liz Nicholls, 49, of Yew Close, had been looking forward to her trip to visit her son Scott Marshall and his girlfriend Sara, who were working in Torrevieja, near Alicante, in June last year.

Oxford Coroner's Court heard yesterday (December 22) that Ms Nicholls, a Bullingdon Prison administrative officer, and her partner, Christopher Blake, had been out drinking with Scott and Sara, and returned to the apartment on June 5.

The court heard Ms Nicholls, a mother of three, had drunk six or seven vodka and Cokes in the afternoon and had more drinks in the evening.

Mr Marshall, 26, of Merganser Drive, Bicester, said he had left his mother and Mr Blake, because he knew they weren't getting on.

He said: "I left because I didn't want to drink and socialise with them when they were like that.

"She wasn't distressed by the fact they had been arguing. Mum liked her vodka. She might have had 15 drinks but that wouldn't have made her out of control. She may have been a little off-balance."

Mr Blake had been in the kitchen, washing a contact lens when he realised he couldn't find Ms Nicholls.

He said he looked over the balcony and saw her lying face-down on the path below. He said: "I started to give her the kiss of life."

Swimming pool attendants attempted to resuscitate Ms Nicholls, who was certified dead at 4.05am on June 6.

Recording an open verdict, deputy Oxfordshire coroner Dorothy Flood said: "There seems to be no reason to think she would have taken her own life. The most likely explanation is that she went on to the balcony and may have lost balance."