A Wiltshire woman suffocated after she handcuffed herself to her bed and tied a plastic bag over her head during an autoerotic sex game, an inquest heard today.

Helen Lovelock, 35, was found by police lying semi-naked on the floor of her bedroom.

The Ministry of Defence worker had handcuffed herself to her bed, the inquest was told. She had died from asphyxiation.

Dr Debbie Cook, of Salisbury District Hospital, who performed a post-mortem examination, said it is rare for females to perform autoerotic asphyxiation alone.

She said: "When police visited her home address they found her lying face to the floor near to the foot of her bed.

"She was naked apart from the lower half with a plastic bag over her head tied at the neck.

"Partial asphyxiation is recognised as a means of enhancing sexual experiences but should be considered a highly dangerous activity.

"It is more common for men than females to die from this but there is literature documenting females as well.

"It is more common for women to ask their partners to do this to them instead of doing it alone.

"Any asphyxiation is a high risk activity and should be considered highly dangerous. If you pass unconscious it is impossible to release the equipment and you will most likely die.

"There were no injuries on her body and no drugs or alcohol in her body.

"The findings at the scene and post-mortem examination are consistent with death by suffocation."

Ms Lovelock, who had no children and lived in Warminster, died on the night of November 12 last year.

The inquest was told she worked for the MoD in Warminster and that concerned colleagues dialled 999 when she didn't arrive for work on Monday morning.

Officers gained broke into her house and found her lying face down on her bedroom floor.

An investigation of her computer found that she had spent 25 minutes on a bondage and sado-masochistic website the night before her death.

Her ex-boyfriend Robert Craig told the hearing in Salisbury, that the couple had a "normal" sex life before they split after four years in June last year.

Deputy Wiltshire coroner Peter Hatvany read out a statement and said: "He described the relationship as normal love-making at first but said that it became less frequent as time went by.

"Robert was very shocked when he heard news of her death."

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Mr Hatvany warned that partial asphyxiation is a "highly dangerous activity".

He said: "Partial asphyxiation is recognised as a means of enhancing sexual experiences but is a highly dangerous activity. There is no evidence she intended to kill herself or of any third party involvement.

"There was a dangerous overtone to this activity so I will record a verdict of misadventure."