The inquest has been held into a former headteacher and devoted animal lover who was found drowned in the bath with her beloved dog.

Seventy four year old Carol Whieldon was found dead at her home in Trudoxhill in early March - after what the inquest learned could have been a regular dog bath of her spaniel Harvey.

She was described by a close friend as a real dog lover and as a: "Happy, intelligent and quirky character, who was extremely loving."

This has been echoed on her funeral notice page, with hundreds of visits from friends and former colleagues of Carol Mabel Whieldon, many from her time working in Devon. There she was also described as being extremely kind hearted and having a lovely sense of humour.

The retired head, who was born in Oakhampton on December 9 , 1945, was living in a bungalow on New Close Farm, next to the home of her daughter and son in law. He had discovered her body, and that of her dog, in the bathroom after breaking down the door after becoming concerned about her not answering her phone on the morning of March 9.

There was no sign of a struggle or a disturbance, however the court heard that the police officer called to the scene was warned that it was a distressingly sad scene, with both her and her dog passed away.

The coroner's court heard that her dog had been attacked previously and was being treated by the local vet, but she had been worried and concerned that he was not improving.

Concerned for her mental state she had been seen by a doctor at Frome Medical Practice. Dr Alex Clark on March 5, because she had complained of not being able to sleep and was unhappy about her deteriorating eye sight due to macular degeneration.

However the doctor told the inquest, held in at the coroner's courtroom in Taunton, with no family or witnesses present due to the coronavirus outbreak, that she was " Bright, warm and chatty" and " I could not elicit any signs of confusions."

The court heard that she had suffered several strokes in 2010 and that she was suffering from a cardiac condition, but that she remained independent, alert and every day would read The Times newspaper.

The coroner Tony Williams had been sent a message from her family asking for a narrative conclusion to her death.

He explained via a virtual link that legally he was obliged to examine whether she had taken her own life, given the circumstances of her death.

Via mobile link he said: " I am legally required to consider whether to record a verdict of suicide.. however on the balance of probability I would not be satisfied to record a conclusion of suicide.

" Carol's body was found in the bath but the circumstances of how she came to be drown and her intentions.. those are not able to be determined."

He formally recorded a narrative* verdict on her death on March 9 2020 at New Close Farm, Trudoxhill.

• A narrative conclusion is used where one single conclusion of cause of death is not sufficient to explain how someone came to their death.