A 69-YEAR-OLD woman, who suffered from severe dementia, choked to death on a single grape at a Chalfont St Peter nursing home, an inquest heard.

Mary Ellen Moloney died while in care at the Chalfont Lodge Nursing Care Centre in Denham Lane.

Mrs Moloney, originally from Waterford in Ireland, died on January 4 this year.

Amersham Coroners' Court heard that two members of staff did not see the grape lodged in her airway before she died.

Care workers Jermyn Taylor and Nishita Puras tried to help Mrs Moloney before paramedics arrived at the nursing home.

Mr Taylor saw Mrs Moloney wandering the halls of the home with breathing problems.

He took her to the dining room, where a more qualified member of staff was available to help.

Mary Dannfald, the former director of the home, said she did not see what happened as she was attending to other duties, but confirmed both care workers tried to help Mrs Moloney.

Ms Puras said: "I opened her airway but I could not find anything, the ambulance came quickly.

"I saw the paramedics take the grape out of her throat"

She added: "She must have got the grape from someone's room.

"She must have been tempted to take it."

The inquest heard paramedics removed the grape, which was preventing Mrs Moloney from breathing, but she did not survive.

A post mortem examination found that Mrs Moloney had no significant health problems, other than dementia.

Richard Hulett, coroner for Buckinghamshire, said Mrs Moloney was probably tempted by the grapes which caused her to choke.

He said: "Mrs Moloney's death was due to natural causes.

"As I understand it she probably spotted some of this fruit and she wanted it. She may have had one or two grapes which makes complete sense to me. She did not chew and it got stuck in the back of her throat."

He added: "The ambulance crew removed the grape but she did not survive."

Mr Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.