THE circumstances surrounding how a woman fell 400ft to her death from a 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, 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, east Cleveland.

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

Only 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.

Detective Sergeant 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.

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

She said: "There were no problems in her life. She was upset at the family pet, Jemma, being put down. She took the loss of Jemma quite hard. Jemma was her dog."

Recording an open verdict, Cleveland Coroner Michael Sheffield said: "Precisely what happened after she left home and when she was in her car will probably never be known, nor will the particular circumstances of how she came to go over the edge of Huntcliff."

Mrs Calvert said after the inquest: "I don't suppose we will ever know. But she is missed."