A WOMAN was discovered dead with pillows covering her head and face in a Sidcup nursing home, an inquest heard today.

Irene Schoepff, 82, was found on the morning of of March 5, 2012, with one pillow on her face and another on top of her head.

Staff at Sidcup Nursing Home in Hatherley Road told South London Coroners' Court they do not know how the pillows ended up in that position.

PC Arif Cuneyt attended the scene shortly after she was discovered.

He said: "I was suspicious when I saw the position of the pillows.

"There was a yellow pillow on her face and when I removed that, a blue one covering her face.

"A healthcare assistant, Emily York, who had found her asked if she could speak to me alone.

"She said she had been told by her manager that she did not have to say much to the police as it was not a suspicious death. That made me suspicious."

A police investigation later deemed the death was not suspicious.

The inquest continues.