Joan Kelly, 52, was found suspended by cord tied to the loft hatch at her house in Weeland Road, Knottingley, just after 4.30pm on August 1.

A Wakefield inquest heard the former cleaner was discovered by her partner Robert Rich when he returned from work that day.

In a statement Mr Rich said he shouted for Ms Kelly when he entered the house but had no response.

He added: “I made my way upstairs to the bedroom and was confronted by the horrifying sight of Joan hanging from some cord which had been tied to the loft hatch.”

The inquest heard that Ms Kelly had previously had surgery to remove a cancerous lump in her breast and later a hysterectomy which “turned her life around”.

After the second operation she decided to stop working to spend more time at her caravan in Scarborough – where she suffered a serious mental breakdown in September 2007.

The grandmother, who reported hearing voices and feeling in low spirits, spent periods in hospital and was prescribed different treatments during the following months.

A psychiatric report read at the inquest said she was in the care of a community health team until her death and had previously mentioned suicide – although she felt guilty about thoughts of taking her own life.

Mr Rich told assitant deputy coroner Robert Chapman Ms Kelly had “gradually isolated herself” after stopping work.

He said: “We thought that after her hysterectomony she needed rest – we never thought it would lead to a mental breakdown.”

Mr Chapman recorded a verdict of suicide and said a postmortem revealed the cause of death as hanging.