Tara Palmer-Tomkinson 'died in her sleep' and was found by a cleaner, after friends feared she was in a 'dark place'

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, the It girl, was discovered by a cleaner after dying peacefully in her sleep, friends have been told, as they spoke of fears she was in a “dark place”.

Palmer-Tomkinson, who has died aged 45, was found at home by a distraught cleaner who set off a specially-installed panic alarm to raise the emergency services.

Friends of the star learned on Thursday that she had died in her sleep, and told of their concerns she had fallen off the wagon over the years since her much-publicised drug addiction.

Her sister, Santa Montefiore, released a brief tribute as the family came to terms with the news, writing on Twitter: "My darling sister. I miss you."

The former model had been unwell for around 18 months, suffering a non-malignant brain tumour which affected her hormones.

One friend told the Telegraph her low weight had been a deep concern to friends, who had feared her frailty would make any partying behaviour “more dangerous”.

Builders working below her flat in West London said her body had been discovered by her cleaner, who had arrived around 1.30pm on Wednesday and was heard crying as she dealt with emergency services.

Minutes after the cleaner set off the alarm an ambulance arrived with several paramedics, followed by three police cars.

The former model had been heard hoovering and walking around her flat the previous Wednesday and had previously complained several times about the builders to the flat's owner.

Five builders renovating the property since September say they saw the cleaner visit the flat twice a week.

Palmer-Tomkinson, who lived in a plush fifth floor apartment in Earls Court, had also failed to collect three item of post from downstairs.

A doormat with a cartoon image of her carrying designer bags is at the entrance to her flat.

One of the builders, who last saw her on Saturday January 14, said: "We could hear her walking around upstairs last week.

"She was cleaning. We could hear hoovering on Wednesday.

"It was the cleaner who found her. She was crying and it was very quiet before she arrived and set off the alarm."

Ivan Massow, Palmer-Tomkinson’s close friend, said she had become “dangerously underweight” in recent months, and had “frequently” fallen off the wagon over the years.

News source : Yahoo