Amber Peat: Hanged girl, 13, 'felt her dog was treated better'

Teachers said they were concerned Amber's behaviour could deteriorate if she had to move schools again

A girl who was found hanged told a teacher her parents cared more for their dog than her, an inquest heard.

Amber Peat's teacher David Wallace said he drove her home because her mother and step-father were dealing with their pet after it went into labour.

Amber's body was discovered in bushes three days after she went missing in Mansfield in 2015.

Mr Wallace had "a gut feeling" something was wrong in the family, Nottingham Coroner's Court heard.

Floral tributes and messages to Amber Peat were left near where her body was found

Amber, 13, had gone missing from home on 3 April, 2014, when she and her family lived in Tibshelf and more than a year before her death.

Mr Wallace, a teacher at Tibshelf Community School, received a call saying she had been found at the school, and after he checked she was OK, he rang her family to see if it was safe to return her home.

He was told over the phone neither mum Kelly nor step-father Daniel Peat could come to collect her as their dog was in labour, so he asked for permission to take her home himself.

Amber was "very quiet" on the drive home, Mr Wallace said, but added "she remarked that they wouldn't care, they were more interested in the dog".

There was "minimal emotion" when Amber was returned, Mr Wallace said, and though the house "needed a little bit of work" there was no sign she was in any danger.

Amber's body was found in Westfield Lane, about a mile from her home in Bosworth Street

Staff at Tibshelf considered referring Amber to social care, the inquest heard, but these plans were shelved when her family agreed to meet them to discuss her behaviour.

At a meeting in May 2014, Mr Wallace said Amber and her parents had appeared "very forced and contrived" and he had "a gut feeling" all was not well at home.

Peter Kenworthy, pastoral lead at Tibshelf, said "with hindsight" the school could have pushed to refer Amber's case to social care services.

But he told the inquest a focus at the time was on ensuring improvements in her behaviour since joining the school was not undone by the disruption of another move.

Hundreds of volunteers came forward to search for Amber and put up posters

Before her final disappearance Amber had run away in January and February 2014.

But this only came to light after a GP had asked staff from a multi-agency team (MAT) run by Derbyshire County Council to visit the family.

Sarah Hart, from Tibshelf MAT, carried out a visit after the January incident with her colleague Mark Hearn, but despite hearing her disappearances had not been reported to police she said Amber seemed "happy".

She said the visit on 14 January was to gain "a snapshot" of home life that would be investigated more thoroughly by other staff at a later date.

The inquest continues.