A 41-year-old unemployed mother, who referred to a train ticket inspector as a “fat bastard” when he inquired about her allegedly defaced free travel pass, has lost a €50,000 damages claim for defamation in the Circuit Civil Court.

A DUBLIN woman who was taking large amounts of over-the-counter prescription drugs built up a lethal level of codeine in her blood in the hours and days before she died, an inquest heard yesterday.