The brothers of a highly respected academic who died of anorexia nervosa at the age of 49 spoke of their shock and sadness today.

Rosemary Pope died suddenly at her home on March 20.

The pro-vice chancellor at Bournemouth University was found collapsed in a kneeling position next to a sofa in her home with a pot of crème fraiche in her hand and a cup of coffee on a table nearby, an inquest into her death heard today.

The hearing was told that Professor Pope, who founded the Centre for Research in Nursing and Midwifery Studies at Surrey University, had suffered from anorexia since she was a teenager and limited her diet in public to fruit and sweets.

Her brother Michael, a solicitor from Sidcup, Kent, said after the inquest: “Christopher and I are devastated by Rosemary’s death.

“Although she had suffered from an eating disorder intermittently for some years, she was an incredibly energetic, enthusiastic and capable person carrying on work at the highest level.”

Mr Pope told the inquest that his sister had prepared a meal for their family last Christmas.

“It was only when she threw the leftover food away that she appeared to relax,” he said.

“We were very aware about her eating disorder and although we raised the subject with her from time to time, it was clear to us it could damage our relationship with her and could be detrimental to her if we pushed too hard,” he said.

“She was unable to hear what we had to say and we find this distressing.”

Professor Pope was highly regarded as an innovator in higher education, particularly in the field of quality assurance, where her work received national and international recognition.

The inquest heard that she had been advised to put on weight when she was working at the University of Surrey.

She attended a BUPA wellness clinic in November 2004 and put on weight afterwards. But she lost it again this year and died weighing only 30.2kg (4st 10lb).

David Willey, deputy vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University, said that he saw Professor Pope on a daily basis and he had never seen her eat more than fruit or sweets.

“She would suck sweets but would eat no food of any substance,” he said. “She would bring her own sandwiches in but I do not recall her ever having touched them.”

He said that Rosemary did appear fragile but added: “Rosemary always showed great emotional and physical energy. Her death was unexpected and a great shock to me.”

Michael Riordan, director of human resources at Bournemouth University, said that Professor Pope had appeared to have lost weight when she fell ill with the norovirus vomiting bug in January this year.

He said: “I urged her to see her GP but she said there was nothing he could do and the best course was to let it run its own course.

“Rosemary never looked that well, she did look very thin but any concerns I had were about her workload and her tendency to worry about work issues.”

The inquest heard that anorexia had given Professor Pope a heart weighing only 140g – the smallest healthy weight being 200g.

East Dorset Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded a verdict of death by natural causes with anorexia nervosa as the cause of death.

He said: “The cause of death was contributed to by her self-neglect, her gross failure to provide herself with care that is a part of life.”

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