A woman who burned to death in her wheelchair had refused to have a smoke alarm installed in her flat, an inquest heard.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Jane Ayres, 43, was killed after dropping a lit cigarette on to herself in her Wimbledon home. She had earlier refused offers to have an alarm installed because she was worried it would be set off by her frequent smoking.

But Barry Kent, fire scene investigator with the London Fire Brigade, told Tuesday’s inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court there were places in the flat where an alarm could have been fitted to avoid this problem.

Merton Council, owners of the property, is now reviewing its list of tenants vulnerable to fire accidents. But coroner Shirley Radcliffe said no authority could force someone to fit an alarm against their wishes.

Fears were also raised over Ms Ayres’ carers after a signing-in book found at the flat suggested they might have been inside during the blaze - but it later emerged the records had been filled out in advance.

The former stock controller, who lived alone in East Road, died on November 20 last year. A carer who regularly looked after Ms Ayres opened the front door of her flat at about 9pm to find it filled with smoke, and called the emergency services. The victim’s charred body was found in her living room.

Pictures examined at the inquest showed the rest of the room was largely untouched by the fire. Ms Ayres’ cat also died, as a result of smoke inhalation.

The court heard Ms Ayres was diagnosed with MS at the age of 26, and became increasingly disabled towards the end of her life - eventually developing problems with movement, speech and swallowing. The court heard district nurses had noticed burns on her legs from dropped cigarettes before, and carers had encouraged her to stop smoking.

The coroner’s clerk said despite her health problems, Ms Ayres managed to remain upbeat and had a wonderful sense of humour.

Helen Cook, head of access and assessment at Merton Council, said new risk assessments were being carried for vulnerable council tenants who used cigarettes or candles following Ms Ayres’ death. She said in future more information would be shared with the fire brigade which could fit smoke alarms for free.

The court also heard carers from Squirrels Direct care company, who had been looking after Ms Ayres for more than five years, had caused problems for the emergency services by filling in attendance records at the flat hours before they should of - unwittingly giving the impression they might have been inside when the fire took place.

Brenda Quelch-Brown, a manager at the company, said staff had now been reminded of the need to complete attendance records properly.

Dr Radcliffe recorded a verdict of accidental death.