A homeless woman who went through “hell on earth” after suffering a miscarriage while sleeping rough on the streets died six months later.

Marie Cattermole, 32, passed away at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N) on September 25, 2022, an inquest into her death heard.

The hearing was told that the primary medical cause of death was given as myocardial ischemia due to a cardiac arrest. She also had pneumonia.

Weeks before her death, she had described to this newspaper her ordeal of suffering a miscarriage while living on the streets.

She told how she lay in the road in agony for nearly five hours as she waited for an ambulance.  

She was taken to the N&N where she was given pads to contain the flow of blood before being discharged. 

The inquest into her death was opened by senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake, at Norfolk Coroner’s Court on May 7. 

It heard Ms Cattermole, a former estate agent, was born on March 28, 1990, in Dartford, Kent, but lived in Norwich with her late mother for 12 years. 

However, both her parents died within five years of each other.  

Three years later, Ms Cattermole ended up living on the streets having fled from domestic abuse while living in Colchester. Eastern Daily Press: Marie Cattermole (left) being held while living on the streets of NorwichSpeaking to this paper, she said if her baby had been a girl then she had planned to call her daughter Meander-Lily to reflect the bends in the river and her mother’s favourite flower.  

At the time, she said: “It was atrocious. It’s completely messed with my mental health.  

“The worst thing about being homeless is not being able to go to the toilet when you want to. Being on the monthly cycle is horrific.  

“Then having a miscarriage on the streets was torture. I was about 14 weeks pregnant.” 

She added that she would often resort to alcohol as a coping mechanism – particularly when the weather was bad – but only wanted a “booster to help get back on my own two feet”. 

Eastern Daily Press: Marie Cattermole (left) being held while living on the streets of Norwich

She also spoke about the difficulty of surviving when she was handed tins of food without an opener or a tub of dry Weetabix.  

A full inquest to determine the official cause of death will take place at the court in October. 

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