VICTORIA Stockman could still have been alive today if a working fire alarm been installed in her Rodbourne flat.

An inquest held at the Coroner’s Court in Salisbury this morning heard that the 33-year-old Business Co-Ordinator with IMSM died following a fire at her flat in Redcliffe Street after sustaining 45 per cent burns and a hypoxic brain injury, associated with a lack of oxygen to the brain.

David Coward, Assistant Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a verdict of accidental death after a stray cigarette end caused a quilt on the sofa to ignite.

He said that a lack of smoke alarms in the building contributed to her death, and could have given her vital seconds to help her escape the burning room.