Camden New Journal
Publications by New Journal Enterprises
spacer
  Home Archive Competition Jobs Tickets Accommodation Dating Contact us
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
By ROISIN GADELRAB
 

Terri Smith
Tragedy of 'happy girl loved by all'

Trainee hairdresser took own life

A TRAINEE hairdresser under hospital care after taking an overdose jumped in front of a Tube train, an inquest has heard.
Terri Louise Smith, 21, told a nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead she was going out to buy a newspaper.
Instead she bought a single train ticket, walked to the end of the platform, let one train pass and took a running jump in front of the next, the St Pancras inquest was told on Thursday.
Ms Smith, of Weedington Road, Kentish Town, died two months after being admitted as a voluntary patient at the Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust unit at the hospital, following a suicide attempt. She left a note apologising to her mother, sister and friends.
Witnesses described seeing Ms Smith take a couple of steps back, then leap in front of the northbound Northern line train at Hampstead station on March 8 last year.
A former pupil at Maria Fidelis School in Somers Town, she had a history of depression and had also attempted suicide three years earlier.
Kay Lane, of British Transport Police, read out a statement on behalf of witness Natalie Courtney, who was too distressed to attend the hearing. Ms Courtney, who was waiting for a train to work, said: “A lady walked past me and continued to the end of the platform. She walked with her head down.
“A few minutes later I heard a train. I noticed the lady in my peripheral vision start to walk but then I saw she started to run and she jumped into the air. At this point I knew what was going to happen so I looked away.”
Train driver Zakariya Piprawala said: “I saw a girl at the end of the platform. She took a step back. I didn’t take much notice of this. She began to run forward and in front of the train.”
GP Dr Gillian Allison, of Four Trees Surgery in Kentish Town, told the inquest Ms Smith suffered from insomnia, depression and had admitted suicidal feelings.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Anne Bird said: “She told us she had been depressed on and off for a five-year period for a number of reasons. I later learned there were a number of problems with her relationships which she didn’t share with psychologists and doctors. There were things she kept deep inside her.”
Ms Smith would sometimes go out for the day with friends but always returned to the ward. Dr Bird said: “She had her ups and downs, her mood was quite variable.”
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Smith’s mother Moira said: “She was a happy girl and everyone loved her. She liked going out to the Electric Ballroom with her friends, listening to R ’n’ B and having a drink and a laugh.”
Verdict: Suicide
spacer
» A-Z of Theatre
» Local Reviews
» Local Listings
» West End Reviews
» West End Listings
» Theatre Tickets
» Theatre & Hotel Packages













spacer


Theatre Music
Arts & Events Attractions
spacer
 
 


  up