Seren Bernard inquest: Teenager 'intended to kill herself'

The 10-day inquest heard Seren was a bright but impulsive girl

A 14-year-old girl who died while under the care of social services had "intended to kill herself", a coroner has concluded.

Seren Bernard, who was in the care of Pembrokeshire council at the time, died in Milford Haven in April 2012.

Coroner Paul Bennett said there had been "communications issues" over her care but found they did not "cause or contribute" to her death.

He recorded a conclusion of suicide.

Mr Bennett said text messages sent by Seren were like a suicide note, and had shown an "unequivocal intention to take her own life".

The inquest heard the teenager was being assisted by social workers, a drug and alcohol worker and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) after an earlier suicide attempt.

Mr Bennett said a social worker's message about her low mood was "not flagged as urgent", an invite for a child protection meeting had been misplaced and CAHMS had not been included on a correspondence list.

However, he found there to be "no causative link" between these issues and the 14-year-old's death.

Organisations involved have been given until the end of next week to submit reports outlining what action they intend to take to address communication issues.

The coroner said he would relate his findings to the relevant authorities.

In a statement, Pembrokeshire County Council said it would "reflect upon all of the issues that have been raised... and consider what lessons can be learned".