Runswick Bay swimmer death inquest opens

An inquest has been opened into the death of a woman while she was swimming off the coast of North Yorkshire.

Mary Stanforth died on 13 August at Runswick Bay, near Saltburn by the Sea.

The 64-year-old, from Mundesley, in Norfolk, had been on a visit to the area at the time of the incident.

Opening the inquest, coroner Oliver Longstaff said the provisional cause of her death had been recorded as "immersion in water". The hearing was then adjourned to a later date.

During the brief hearing in Northallerton, Mr Longstaff read a statement from coroner's officer Sue Gregson.

He said: "The circumstances of her death as they are reported to me are that Mary Stanforth was recovered from the sea at Runswick Bay having entered the water from the shore.

"Her death was confirmed at the scene."

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