Retired Cardiff doctor fell to death after night out
- Published
A retired doctor died after falling down stairs in "remarkably high shoes" following an evening drinking champagne, an inquest heard.
Dr Susan Allanby, 66, tumbled down six stairs at her holiday home in Spain.
A Pontypridd inquest heard that she fell after a night out with her husband, Dr Charles Allanby, and another couple.
The court heard that her husband had driven her home from the their night out at about 01:00 GMT in January 2018.
Dr Allanby, 63, said: "They were remarkably high shoes. I hadn't seen her wear those before.
"Had she been wearing flat shoes perhaps there would have been a different outcome."
He added: "My wife actually took flat shoes with her to walk home from the pub.
"Because she didn't appear unable to walk home properly, she didn't change her shoes."
'Hearing a thump'
Mother-of-four Dr Allanby spent 35 years as a GP at the Clifton Surgery in Roath, Cardiff.
Her husband said he found her after hearing a loud "thump".
The inquest heard a post mortem revealed the cause of death was a traumatic head and neck injury.
Senior coroner Andrew Barkley said: "The circumstances are that in hearing a noise, hearing a thump, Dr Allanby discovers that his wife appears to have fallen on the stairs."
The coroner recorded a conclusion of death by accident contributed to by alcohol.