A woman may have jumped from a window after chewing a herbal stimulant, an inquest heard today.

Halima Hassan, 31, was found dead in the grounds of St Katherine’s Court, Northampton, on May 31, 2009.

She had been chewing khat, an amphetamine-like stimulant popular in east Africa, with a female friend shortly before her death.

Her husband found her on the ground outside the flat after she disappeared from the room, an inquest at Northampton General Hospital heard today.

The court heard Mrs Hassan died of multiple injuries consistent with a fall and there was no suggestion another person had been involved.

But a report from pathologist Dr Elizabeth Turk said a possible explanation for a jump from a window may have been khat.

Khat is an amphetamine-like stimulant which can cause excitement, euphoria and hyperactivity, the inquest heard.

On rare occasions it can also cause psychotic symptoms including paranoid delusions.

Dr Turk said khat toxicity had neither directly caused nor directly contributed to the cause of death but added: “Psychotic symptoms or hallucinations could be a possible explanation for a jump out of a window.”

The court heard Mrs Hassan, who was born in Kuwait, lived in Holland for several years where she suffered domestic violence at the hands of her first husband.

A statement from her brother Galy Hassan said the mother-of-three married again after moving to the UK in 2004, but suffered mental health problems and spent some time in a mental health hospital in Liverpool before later moving to Northampton.

He said she met and married her third husband Asad Mohamed and the inquest heard on Fridays she would read the Koran to children voluntarily at the local Somali community centre.

A report from GP Dr Simon Tickle said she visited the Maple Access Partnership in Northampton on January 15, 2009 in a “chaotic” way, homeless and apparently slightly manic.

She confirmed she had a mental health background in Liverpool and had also suffered khat and stimulant drug and alcohol misuse, the inquest heard.

She was assessed by a mental health nurse and was given treatment.

She last visited the surgery on May 26, 2009 - five days before her death - when she reported having not used medication for some time but was doubtful of its efficacy and asked for other medication, the court heard.

Asad Mohamed told the inquest he and Halima Hassan married in February 2009 in a Somali ceremony at a restaurant in Northampton.

He said he knew of his wife’s previous mental health problems.

”I knew that Halima was also chewing two bundles of khat two to four times a week,” he told the inquest.

”It’s quite normal for our community and it enables one to communicate better with people.”

The inquest heard the plant is imported from Kenya and its leaves are chewed.

Mr Mohamed said on May 30 he and his wife, who lived at Dover Court in Northampton, went to a friend’s flat at St Katherine’s Court.

He said he left the women in the flat while he went to buy some khat.

The inquest he when he got back at around 11pm both Halima and the woman were sitting and chewing khat and were “happy”.

He told the court he went to wash his hair ready to go to a concert, and when he returned his wife was not there.

He and the other woman looked everywhere but could not find her in the flat.

Eventually they found her body on the ground outside.

Mr Mohamed said: “I would describe my relationship with Halima as husband and wife.

”I loved her and she treated me well, we were never angry towards each other.”

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember said: “We heard that she had been chewing khat and I think that this may have affected how she came to be found on the ground outside St Katherine’s Court.

”I don’t think there was any intention on her part to end her life.”

A Home Office spokeswoman today said the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was currently looking at recent research on khat.

The ACMD last looked at khat in 2005 when it advised it should not be made a controlled substance.

The spokeswoman said: “We have referred research from a recent study to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and asked them to consider all the evidence currently available on khat so they can make a full assessment of its harms.

”The Government will then make a decision informed by this assessment.”