A BELOVED great-grandmother from Steeton died after she broke a hip in a fall while Christmas shopping in a Tesco store, Bradford Coroner’s Court heard.

Esther Payne, 90, who was described as physically fit and “feisty”, is thought to have fallen after an unexplained collision involving a staff member and a roll-cage trolley of beauty products.

Mrs Payne was in Tesco, Ilkley, with her daughter on December 21 buying luxuries for the Christmas dinner which she cooked for her family every year.

After the fall she was taken to Airedale Hospital, where her health declined rapidly and she died from a heart attack on January 3.

The court heard how Mrs Payne was standing at the back of the store as worker Lawrence Lynch reversed towards her pulling the half-full trolley, ready to stock shelves.

Mr Lynch said the store was busy and he had paused when he was struck by something between his shoulder blades. He then saw Mrs Payne falling backwards into an aisle.

But duty manager Rachel King said that initially Mr Lynch gave the impression he had been in motion.

Miss King told the court: “I asked him was he moving at the time and he did say yes."

Shopper Josephine Anderson said although she did not see any collision, she did see Mrs Payne falling backwards, past her and hit the floor.

Ms Anderson said: “As she fell she was shouting 'You stupid man! You stupid man!'. Then she was on the floor screaming."

Mrs Payne was rushed to Airedale Hospital with a broken left hip and bruising to her head. The hip bone was pinned on December 22. But on Christmas Day she suffered a cardiac incident and family members were called urgently to the hospital.

Mrs Payne had existing serious medical conditions which included heart problems. She developed renal failure and then suffered a fatal heart attack on January 3.

Medical notes said that the hip repair could have been a contributory factor to her death.

Assistant coroner Dominic Bell was told Tesco had no CCTV footage of the incident as cameras did not cover that part of the shop. He said it was unlikely that proven details of the incident would emerge.

Mrs Payne's eldest daughter Susan Funnell said her widowed mother was “not a poorly little old lady”.

Ms Funnell said: “She was a feisty madam who if you saw her you would think was 70 not 90."

The inquest, before a jury, is expected to conclude today.