Winehouse had high alcohol levels in blood: Inquest

British singer had more than five times legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood when she died on July 23.

LONDON: British singer Amy Winehouse had more than five times the legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood when she died on July 23 aged 27, British media reported on Wednesday.     

The "Rehab" and "Back to Black" singer had 416 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, according to the findings of an inquest into her death, compared with the legal driving limit of 80 mg.

A hearing in London also learned that Winehouse, who battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout her brief but successful career, had not drunk alcohol in July until the day before she died.

The findings backed reports shortly after her death that the Grammy award-winning artist had been trying to deal with her addiction but ran the risk of complications from binge drinking.

A security guard checked on Winehouse at 10 am on the day she died at her house in Camden, north London, and thought she was asleep. He checked again at 3 pm and called the emergency services.

The inquest ruled that she had died of "misadventure."

Members of her family, including her father Mitch, were present at the inquest, but made no comment to awaiting media as they left. A statement was expected to be released later on Wednesday.

Winehouse's last filmed performance was in Serbia in June, when she was jeered by the crowd as she struggled to perform her songs and stay upright. Her management then canceled all her scheduled performances.

Results from toxicology tests released in August showed there were no illegal substances in Winehouse's system when she died.

"Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy's system at the time of her death," a spokesman for Winehouse said at the time.

"Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death."