A 15-year-old schoolgirl who overdosed after years of alleged bullying shared a secret diary with a school pal in which she wrote that she intended to kill herself, an inquest heard today.

The bullying began after Elaine Swift donated her bone marrow at the age of 11 to younger sister Christine, then aged five, her father said.

Subsequent media publicity led to her becoming what the inquest heard was something of a "celebrity" in the Cleveland town of Hartlepool, where the family live.

A schoolfriend who shared messages in the diary, a school exercise book, told the inquest that she did not believe Elaine intended herself harm despite the entry.

The girl, who is not being named, said that on one occasion she wrote in their diary: "How are you doing, I'm bored so I thought I would let you know that I'm going to kill myself tonight."

The girl told the inquest that Elaine replied: "Hi, it's Elaine here, I'm killing myself tonight."

When asked by Hartlepool Coroner Malcolm Donnelly if the entries indicated the two had a suicide pact the friend replied: "No, it was nothing serious, I didn't believe she meant it."

The inquest heard how Elaine had received 37 counselling sessions after being referred to specialists by her school, including 28 one-hour face-to-face sessions with a social worker.

Therapeutic social worker Susan Davis, who conducted the sessions, told the inquest she did not believe bullying was at the root of her emotional problems.

Mrs Davis told the inquest: "I did not feel that bullying was the issue and that there was much more underneath. I felt there was a lot I did not know about.

"She did seem emotionally vulnerable but she covered that up quite well.

"I think her problems showed themselves in school but I don't think that's where the problems originated."

Elaine's father Bernard has previously told the inquest he believes the publicity led to the bullying, which in turn became unbearable for his daughter and which ultimately cost her her life.

She took 15 paracetemol tablets last November and died in hospital 10 days later despite undergoing an emergency liver transplant in a bid to save her life.

The inquest heard that Elaine told medics she had taken just 15 tablets but that the full amount would probably never be known.

Mr Swift, 45, of Lancaster Road, has told the inquest how Elaine was a timid, shy girl, who suffered various forms of bullying including name-calling, having her chair pushed from under her and having pencils stabbed in her back.

He said that he and his 38-year-old wife Fiona constantly visited the town's Dyke House School to inform teachers about Elaine's allegations of bullying.

He told the inquest: "My conclusion is that the bullying killed her and I believe that very strongly.

"The whole thing came just after the press releases about what she had done for her sister and from that time on she got the bullying all the way through.

"In my heart I feel the two of them are joined together.

"The publicity led to the bullying and that's what she could not deal with."

The former storeman, who has suffered three heart attacks, believes Elaine's overdose was a cry for help rather than a deliberate suicide bid as there were stronger drugs stored in the house which he uses for his heart condition.

He added: "We have numerous drugs in our house and some are very dangerous and potent.

"If she had intended to harm herself she could have taken any of them."

Pathologist Mark Bennett told the inquest the cause of death was multi-organ failure, due to liver failure due to the paracetamol overdose.

The inquest heard how the family were originally from the Stirling area of Scotland and moved to Hartlepool around 10 years ago.

The hearing, at Hartlepool Civic Centre, which was continuing today with evidence from school teachers, is expected to finish on Friday.