A pregnant mother-of-five died after drinking industrial-strength vinegar during an attempted home abortion she had researched online.

Catherine Furey, 38, suffered a violent and eventually fatal reaction to the concentrated acid similar to that used in a chip shop.

A police investigation was launched and officers arrested her sister-in-law Dawn Chadwick for handing her the vinegar bottle in late 2010.

She was eventually charged with manslaughter but after an 18-month investigation this was dropped this week, allowing the details of this tragic case to be revealed for the first time.