A VERDICT of death by natural causes has been returned at the inquest of a woman found dead in a hotel pool in Ibiza.

Sylvia Gilfellan, 78, from Pilning, was found not moving and unresponsive in the pool at Hotel Club Bahamas Ibiza in Playa d’en Boss on September 15 last year.

Avon coroner’s court heard that Mrs Gilfellan and her partner had been staying at the Hotel Club Bahamas Ibiza in Playa d’en Boss.

On the last day of their holiday, the weather was very hot and the couple had been reading books in the lobby. At around 1pm, Mrs Gilfellan decided to go for a swim, while her partner continued to read.

Two tourists spotted her under the water, where she was found to be unresponsive. They pulled her out and tried to resuscitate her for 10 minutes.

An an off-duty nurse from the UK took over the CPR for 15 minutes, before paramedics arrived. An ambulance then took the holidaymaker to Can Misses Hospital in Ibiza where, despite the medical team's best efforts, she was pronounced dead later that day.

The deceased's body was embalmed in Ibiza, before being returned to the UK. Pathologist Dr Pinias Mukonoweshuro told the court that as a result, certain processes within the post-mortem investigation could not be carried out, and that an exact cause of death could not be established. 

However, he was able to confirm that no violence or trauma to the body had occurred prior to the incident. 

He said it was likely that Mrs Gilfellan's exisiting health conditions - an enlarged heart and small kidney - could have contributed to her death.

With the findings of the post mortem, plus a GP’s medical history report, Dr Peter Harrowing, assistant coroner for Avon, concluded that Mrs Gilfellan's health problems, in combination with the hot weather and exercise, had caused her death.