AN elderly widow who drowned in an ornamental pond in her garden in the village of Maesllyn near Llandysul, was suffering from pneumonia which had not been diagnosed.

Her condition could have led to her becoming dizzy and falling into the water, an inquest was told last week.

Eighty-year-old Peggy Eileen Gumm, of Geryllyn, Maesllyn, could have been feeling under the weather and unsteady on her feet due to her medical condition, which came to light during the post mortem examination.

Her friend Judith Ann Stephens, who lived a mile-and-a-half away, called at the pensioner's home at 5.30pm on Thursday, June 4, and found the garden shed door open, but no sign of Mrs Gumm.

Mrs Stephens left a magazine, a bottle of medical wine and a note on a table in the house before leaving.

She told Ceredigion coroner Peter Brunton that on arriving back at her home she said out loud: "Dear me, I should have gone round the garden."

The following day she was shopping in Newcastle Emlyn when she spoke to Donald Gridd who took her to Geryllyn at 12.30pm. As they approached the pond which was 5ft deep, they saw something in the water and Mrs Stephens recognised Mrs Gumm's body warmer.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said it was possible Mrs Gumm felt faint, tripped on the edge of the pond and was unable to free herself.