THE circumstances surrounding how a woman came to fall to her death from a 400ft cliff may never be known, an inquest has heard.

The semi-naked body of 28-year-old care assistant Anthea Calvert was found at the foot of Huntcliff, Saltburn, on a Sunday, last August.

There were no signs of an assault and no suicide note.

Miss Calvert's mother, Susan, a 53-year-old technician, had telephoned NHS Direct in the early hours of the same Sunday after her daughter collapsed at the family home in Churchill Drive, Marske.

Miss Calvert told her mother she would drive to an out-of-hours doctor's surgery at Teesdale, but she never arrived.

Hours later, surfers found her body lying at the foot of Huntcliff, dressed only in her underwear. The rest of her clothes have never been found.

Det Sgt Nicholas Owen of Cleveland police told Teesside coroner Michael Sheffield: "This remains an anomaly to this day.''

Home Office pathologist James Sunter said: "She has been a healthy young woman with no evidence of any natural disease to cause or accelerate death or collapse.''

He said death would have been instantaneous and from injuries consistent with a fall from a height. There was no evidence of an assault.

The inquest heard Miss Calvert had no history of mental illness. Mrs Calvert said her daughter was not in a relationship with anyone and was unaware of personal problems.

She said there were no problems in her life, other than being upset when the family dog had to be put down.

Recording an open verdict, Mr Sheffield said precisely what happened would probably never be known.