A MONMOUTH mother, whose body was found washed up in Somerset, fell into a river two weeks before, an inquest heard.

An open verdict was reached at the inquest of Maureen McMeeking, 49, last seen by her partner John O’Brien on October 23, 2012.

She failed to return home from a trip to a shop. Her belongings were discovered on a riverbank.

Miss McMeeking suffered with depression following the death of her child and she had started to drink alcohol daily, the inquest heard.

Gwent Coroner’s Court heard how on the morning of her disappearance, Miss McMeeking had been upset.

Mr O’Brien said that she had left the house to visit the shop.

Four days later, on October 26, her sister called the police as no one had been able to contact her.

CCTV footage showed Miss McMeeking buying alcohol and later her belongings were discovered at a riverbank in Monmouth near to the store.

Her body was discovered on December 8 on a beach in Burnham-on-Sea.

A post mortem examination could not determine a cause of death, but found no evidence of injury from a third party.

Deputy coroner Wendy James said: “It could be that she fell in unintentionally or that she entered deliberately but I’m unable to say.”