A PRIMARY school teacher died from alcoholic liver disease after she was admitted to hospital on New Year's Eve.

Carolyn Rowland of Kidlington passed away at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, after an operation to treat liver cirrhosis.

An inquest on Thursday heard the 53-year-old had battled depression and alcoholism while teaching at schools around Oxfordshire.

The mum-of-three also played cornet with Oxford Cherwell Brass Band and taught brass instruments around the county.

Friends on the band's facebook page described Mrs Rowland as "warm and tender" with a "gentle sense of humour".

Oxford Coroner's Court heard from her GP at Key Medical Practise in Kidlington, Sarah Morris, how she had battled alcohol dependency for years.

Dr Morris said Miss Rowland was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2013, a disease in which liver cells are replaced with scar tissue, eventually stopping the liver from functioning.

On New Year's Eve Miss Rowland was admitted to the John Radcliffe with jaundice – yellow skin brought on by liver problems.

Doctors performed an initial treatment on New Year's Day but before any more treatment could be given, Miss Rowlands had a cardiac arrest and passed away on January 7.

Miss Rowland's family said they could not have been happier with the treatment she received at the hospital.

Speaking after the inquest, her mother Pat Hunt and her brother Peter Hunt said: "We thought she had great care – our feeling was that she had been very well looked after."

Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp concluded the inquest by giving a narrative verdict, saying: "Carolyn died on January 7 at the John Radcliffe following admission to treat complications from liver cirrhosis."