Woman electrocuted by hairdryer in bath

Allison Riley had tried to kill herself twice before by driving over a cliff in Bournemouth and jumping out of a first-floor window.

The 29-year-old, who was taking medication, was found dead on the morning of January 22, just a day after moving into her new rented flat in Osborne Road, New Milton.

The inquest in Southampton heard how a neighbour alerted the letting company after hearing Miss Riley's smoke alarm ringing.

A letting agent entered the top- floor property with a master key and called the police when he saw Miss Riley.

She was found dead in the bath with an electrical cable under the water leading to an extension lead.

Officers found a bottle of alcohol and a glass in the bathroom as well as an empty three-litre bottle of cider.

Det Sgt Glyn White told how there had been no evidence of a break-in and there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances.

This was despite one neighbour coming forward shortly after Miss Riley's death saying she heard a man and woman arguing and the sound of water on the evening of January 21.

Neighbour Jane Kraushaar went on to say she heard a woman scream 'Get off!' four times.

Officers from the major crime team re-opened the investigation but found no suspicious circumstances. They concluded the neighbour may have muddled up the voices with the previous occupants.

In police interviews Miss Riley's parents, Catherine and Henry, said their daughter had a long history of depression and self-harm after being bullied at school.

They said a pending court case for allegedly drink-driving in Bournemouth in November last year had also made her depressed.

Mr and Mrs Riley, who are separated, told how during the evening before her body was discovered their daughter had phoned both of them a number of times.

During her last call to her mother, she said she was sitting in the bath with a hairdryer.

Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman recorded a verdict of suicide.