A CORONOR told the family of a young Isle of Wight Royal Navy pilot that the law was "a fool" for not allowing him to conduct a full inquest into her death.

Lieutenant Jenny Lewis, 25, pictured, from Ventnor, died after her helicopter crashed into the sea while on exercise over the Atlantic.

Her body was never recovered. She was believed to have been the first female casualty the Royal Navy had ever had.

A Royal Navy photographer told the inquest yesterday of his dramatic escape from the helicopter which plunged 400ft into the sea, killing the pilot, Lieutenant Rodney Skidmore, and co-pilot Lt Lewis.

The body of pilot Lieutenant Rodney Skidmore, 39, from Martinstown, Dorset, was later recovered from 2.5 miles below the ocean surface, the inquest heard.

Coronor Michael Johnston recorded a verdict of accidental death for Lt Skidmore and said that the cause of death was due to injuries to his head, face, neck and shoulders.

Speaking to Lt Lewis's mother, he added: "I'm sorry the law's a fool when it won't allow me to hold an inquest into your daughter's death under the same circumstances."