A BAKERY assistant manager took her own life on the day she was due to appear in court charged with drink-driving, an inquest heard.

Mary-Ann Dust, 30, who was known as Mez, was found hanged by her partner at their home on Birkfield Road, Windermere.

Ms Dust, who worked at The Cornish Bakery in Bowness, did not tell her parents about being arrested because she was worried about what they would have thought, said mother Sue Dust.

"She was very protective so didn't want to cause us any worry," Mrs Dust, from Ulverston, told the Kendal County Hall hearing.

"She couldn't have handled us knowing but it wasn't the end of the world. Over the years she said she couldn't take any disappointment in her dad's eyes. Her dad is very anti drink-driving."

The inquest was told Ms Dust had been partying with work colleagues before they put her in a taxi to take her home.

But part way she stopped the taxi, got out and went to collect her car before crashing into other vehicles. Mrs Dust said she understood her daughter had blown twice the legal limit.

"She would have been absolutely mortified that she damaged other people's property," said Mrs Dust.

The inquest heard Ms Dust was found hanged by painter and decorator Dale Bowe after he returned home from work at around 6.45pm on March 21 this year.

Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead the scene. A toxicology report found a small amount of cannabis and alcohol in her blood.

Mrs Dust said she had spoken to her daughter the day before when she seemed 'just her normal bubbly self'.

The inquest was told she had suffered with depression which she managed with cannabis and alcohol.

A statement from a GP at Bowness and Windermere Medical Practice said she was last seen for anxiety and depression in 2015.

"She was a wonderful person," added Mrs Dust. "She thought she could fix the world. She would take on everyone's problems - sometimes too much."

Coroner Robert Chapman said: "One of her problems was she did keep things to herself and she didn't confide to you or your husband of this concern (the court appearance).

"It was preying on her mind because she felt like she let you down.

"She was a lovely girl, well-liked by family and by people that she worked with. She played life close to her chest.

Ms Dust attended Kirkby Stephen Grammar School and had worked in hospitality at Tebay, at the Sharrow Bay hotel in Ullswater and also ran a pub in Kendal.