A pensioner evicted from the care home where she hoped to spend the rest of her days has died after taking an overdose of painkillers.

Alice Pink, 93, was said to be distraught after being forced out of Dresden House, in Medina Villas, Hove, and her family believe she committed suicide.

Before taking the pills, she scribbled a note telling her family: "I can't go on."

Mrs Pink led the campaign against the closure after 33 elderly residents were told in January the home was being sold.

Her nephew, Nick Steadman, said: "My aunt essentially committed suicide, having overdosed unsuccessfully and then taken a week to finally die.

"She had become rather difficult and vacillated a great deal over where to go after being given the compulsory heave-ho by Dresden House but after a short spell in Woking had transferred back to Worthing, where she appeared to be reasonably content.

"There is, as far as I'm aware, no history of suicide in the family but my aunt, who was definitely thrown by the whole sorry Dresden House saga, was a former midwife and health visitor, so she would have been fully aware of what awaited her as she aged still further.

"She may have preferred to go out with her faculties intact."

Mrs Pink had been recovering from a cataract operation in The Shelley, a home in Shelley Road, Worthing, when she took the overdose. Staff became aware that she was gravely ill the following day and she was taken to Worthing Hospital where she died days later, on May 20.

Her death is thought to have been caused by pneumonia. An inquest will determine whether the condition was brought on or exacerbated by her overdose.

Trustees of £7 million Dresden House said they could no longer meet the financial demands of running the home.

But the Government's adviser on care homes said Dresden House was financially viable and provided a good standard of care. The Commission for Social Care Inspection said it could find no reason for closure after several inspections.

Families of the evictees have appealed to the Charities Commission against the decision.

Mrs Pink, the last resident to leave Dresden House in March, told The Argus on January 13: "Most of the women living at the home do not have long left and want to live out their last days independently and with dignity. This is a massive blow to us all."

Edna Henshall, 84, also a former resident of Dresden House died in February, after suffering a stroke on the day she was due to move out.