Coroner offers reassurance to the family of a Wigan woman who died at the age of 38

A family was told there was nothing they could have done to stop the death of a Wigan woman at the age of 38.

As he closed an inquest looking into the tragic death of Sophie Shambley, coroner Stephen Teasdale said to her loved ones: “There is nothing anybody here could have done to prevent this.”

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard Sophie died on Friday, December 19 after being hit by a train near Bryn railway station.

She had left her home in Ashton suddenly, without telling her husband Shaun that she was going out, and sent messages to him and other family members which were thought to be goodbye messages.

The inquest heard Sophie, who lived in Ashton, had a long-standing history of anxiety and depression, which was first diagnosed in 2013.

She took anti-depressants for 10 months and received counselling, which led to her recovery.

Her GP Dr Sakir Patel, from Alexander House Health Centre in Platt Bridge, told the court she sought further help for her mental health on a number of occasions in the following years and stabilised again after treatment.

She was last seen at the practice on December 5 with physical symptoms and was awaiting the results of a blood test, he said.

The court heard Sophie was very close to her grandparents and her late grandfather’s ashes were interred in the week before she died.

Her mother Joanne McGarrigan said she went for a coffee on December 15 with her daughter, who was struggling with depression and said she planned to speak to her GP in the new year about starting medication and counselling.

She expressed what the coroner identified as suicidal ideation, but said she had no plans to act.

Mr Shambley said his wife was often “very, very hormonal”, would be “very down, very tearful” and was concerned she was entering early menopause, but never spoke to him about thoughts of suicide.

He regularly worked away from home and returned on December 18 - their wedding anniversary - for three weeks.

They had a disagreement, but that was resolved and they went Christmas shopping and out for lunch the following day, which he described as a “good day”.

But at around 5pm she phoned her mother-in-law, saying her husband “deserves better”.

Mr Shambley went outside to speak to his mother on the phone and realised Sophie had left the house when he went back inside an hour later.

He used a mobile phone app to find her and discovered she had gone to the railway.

Leanne Callan, fatality investigator for British Transport Police, said CCTV footage showed Sophie arriving at Bryn railway station at 5.25pm.

She spent around 20 minutes out of the camera’s view, before she was seen walking onto the track, despite a series of measures being in place to stop people doing so.

Mr Teasdale recorded that Sophie died by suicide.

If you need to speak to someone, call Samaritans at any time on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.