A woman suffered a catastrophic brain injury and died after choking on the dinner she was enjoying with her partner, an inquest has heard.

Sarah Chalkley, 41, was eating a lamb dinner in her fiancé Nick’s flat on the evening of February 7 when he noticed his partner was struggling to breathe.

The pair both lived in supported accommodation in Upper Green Street, High Wycombe, so Nick rushed to get help from a worker, who called 999 and started CPR.

Sarah had been diagnosed in late 2019 with Huntingdon’s Chorea, a neurodegenerative disease that can affect the ability to chew and swallow.

An inquest into Sarah’s death on Wednesday, April 28, heard how both South Central Ambulance Service and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance were called to assist at around 10pm.

Paramedics were by her side within five minutes and managed to remove some food from her airways at the scene with suction, but due to difficulties in extricating her from the third floor of the building – which required assistance from Bucks Fire and Rescue – they did not leave for Wexham Park Hospital until 12.50am on February 8.

They recorded that Sarah was totally unresponsive throughout.

Sarah’s brother Lee, who also has a diagnosis of Huntingdon’s and was at the inquest in Beaconsfield on Wednesday, said his sister had been “overweight all her life” and would choke on her food “from time to time”. She also suffered with mild asthma.

He said: “She deteriorated pretty fast and the symptoms came on quickly.”

When Sarah arrived at Wexham Park Hospital, she was tested for Covid-19 – and the result was positive, although she had not obviously been suffering any symptoms.

Dr Tiina Tamm, who works in intensive care at Wexham Park, said Sarah was stabilised on arrival and sent for a CT scan which revealed she had suffered a hypoxic brain injury – caused by a restriction of oxygen to the brain.

A chest scan also revealed she had Covid-19. Tragically, Sarah suffered organ failure and died in hospital on February 11 after treatment was withdrawn in agreement with her family because it was not in her “best interests” to continue.

Senior coroner for Buckinghamshire Crispin Butler said it was a “very, very sad case”. He said: “Sarah passed away at Wexham Park Hospital as a result of compromised oxygen supply to her brain following an incident on February 7 when she choked on food. This led to a cardiac arrest.”

He said her background condition of Huntingdon’s made her more prone to choking, but added that Covid-19 may have played a part.

Her cause of death was recorded as a hypoxic brain injury caused by an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest caused by choking. Huntingdon’s Chorea and Covid-19 were listed as contributory factors.

Mr Butler recorded that Sarah’s death was accidental.