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08
Oct
Harrogate shopkeeper ‘let down by health service’, inquest told
A Harrogate shopkeeper died after repeatedly seeking help from NHS services, an inquest was told today (October 8).
Claire Lewis, who ran Number One Shop on Electric Avenue, died on May 26 this year. About 20 bunches of flowers and cards were left outside the shop by members of the community.
Northallerton Coroner’s Court heard that the 52-year-old had been struggling with both mental and physical illness and, according to her ex-husband and close friend Pradeep, had “started to look weak and ill”.
In a written statement to the court, he said that her health had been declining since August 2025 due to work issues, and that she was concerned that her business was losing income due to a decline in the number of customers.
The shop was impacted by roadworks outside.
The Stray Ferret previously reported about how the Number One Shop was being impacted by long-term roadworks to create a new roundabout and access road to Tesco, which was having a devastating impact on trade.
She said in August last year:
I’m the only one running it because I can’t pay my staff, but the only way of getting round the situation is not paying myself. I come to work every day feeling down because there’s nothing here. I’m worried about [my staff] because they’re not working and I’m working 10am-6pm unpaid every day.
Pradeep called the mental health crisis team in March, but despite his concerns that his ex-wife wasn’t safe, he was told that unless she called herself, or spoke to staff alongside him, there was nothing they could do.
Ms Lewis had also been to the Harrogate District Hospital emergency care department, where she expressed anxieties around her numerous health conditions. She had been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, and was struggling with regular falls, slurring her words, poor vision and pins and needles.
She told the mental health nurse at the hospital she was concerned she wouldn’t be able to function as the disease progressed.
As she didn’t present as suicidal, was clean, articulate and cognitively intact, she was sent home and given guidance to explore community resources to support her mental wellbeing.
'Let down by the health service'
Pradeep wrote in his statement that Ms Lewis had been "let down by the council and health service", while her sister Samantha said it was "frustrating" that she hadn't been given help.
On the day of her death, concern had grown as Ms Lewis wasn’t answering her phone or door.
Claire Lewis, pictured outside her shop in August 2025.
Pradeep had keys to her house and after letting himself in found her non-responsive and called an ambulance. She was certified dead at the scene.
The police report from the incident expressed concerns due to the multiple medication boxes at the scene.
The toxicology report stated that there were “higher than expected” levels of amitriptyline (an antidepressant) and codeine in her system, both at a concentration “associated with fatality”.
There were also “therapeutic dose” amounts of diazepam, paracetamol and pregabalin, and a small amount of cannabis.
The postmortem said the death was due to mixed drug toxicity, alcoholic liver disease, heart disease and pneumonia.
While reports were submitted by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust’s crisis team and Harrogate District Hospital, there was one report still due from the trust, which the coroner said the family would receive when it became available.
The Stray Ferret will be speaking to the family of Ms Lewis.
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