SOCIAL services failed to visit a vulnerable, mentally ill young woman after police told them that she had little food in her flat and was finding it difficult to ask for help, a coroner heard today (Monday 30 January) at a pre-inquest hearing.

It appeared the only action taken following concerns expressed by officers who had seen Laura Winham at her home in Sheerwater was to send her a form providing details of local food banks and the contact details for local support teams.

The body of Laura, 38, was found in a “mummified” state in her council flat in Devonshire Avenue three-and-a-half years after Surrey Police officers visited her in October 2017, answering a call concerning a minor incident.

The police had sent a report to social services saying Laura was self-neglecting and unaware of how to get help, Assistant Surrey Coroner Keren Henderson was told today.

Laura’s body was found by her brother, Roy, after he had asked police to break into the flat. He had called to tell her their father had died and, after getting no response, saw a foot poking out from under a blanket. She is believed to have died at the end of November 2017.

Solicitor Katie Ayres, representing the county council, admitted that social workers did not visit Laura, but said it was not clear whether its social services department had failed in its operational duty under the Care Act.

More to come from the pre-inquest hearing later today.