A 14-YEAR-old girl had been suffering with mental health problems and was hearing voices before she died in 2017, an inquest has heard.

Maisy Lewis was found dead in a park off Walsingham Drive near her home in Runcorn on October 15, 2017, the day after she had gone missing following an evening with her friends.

She had written a note on her arm in black ink.

An inquest sitting at Warrington Coroner's Court today, Thursday, heard that the Sandymoor School pupil had been suffering with anxiety leading up to her death.

Emma Simpson, principal of the school said Maisy had told teachers it only happened in school because she lacked confidence, had low self esteem and didn't like speaking in class.

Kimberly Lewis, Maisy's mum, said: "I was not worried-worried, it was not an ongoing thing, it was just a one-off occasion. She never bought it up again.

"I knew she had fallen out with a few friends at school. She tended to stay with the lads – she dealt with it.”

Maisy's nan and granddad died in April and September 2017 which her mum felt may have had an impact upon Maisy's mood because she was close to them.

In July 2017, one of Maisy's friends reported seeing cuts on Maisy's wrists, something neither of her parents had seen before.

The friend also said that Maisy had been feeling down recently and wanted to move schools but had never said why.

Maisy's dad, Carl Lewis, described Maisy as a typical teenager but added that she had been to her GP about anxiety and she had put on weight during that time.

He said: “I was worried about her from a mental health point of view, physically there was nothing of her and it was just a teenage thing and it wasn’t something she needed to worry about.

"She was a quiet person when it come to things like that."

On Saturday, October 14, Mr and Mrs Lewis had been looking at new houses in the morning and arrived home to collect Maisy.

He recalled: "We picked her up and we went for a meal.

"She was happy, she was jovial, she was her usual self.

"Her mum took her shopping for some new trainers in Warrington town centre and they came back about 3:30pm."

Maisy then went out with her friends at about 4.30pm, briefly coming home to use the toilet at about 6.30pm.

He added: "She sounded happier than I’d heard her in a long time."

After Maisy returned to her friends, her parents discovered a bottle of wine was missing.

Mr Lewis said this was something she had done before.

He remembered: "I wouldn’t describe it as frequent.

"I can only think of two occasions when it happened.

"More often than not it was circumstantial."

That evening, after Maisy had returned to her friends, one of them said: “She was hiding something in her jacket and I later saw it was a bottle of white wine.

"She also had a coke bottle which she said had vodka in it.”

He said alcohol made her happy and more interactive.

Another friend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he was aware that Maisy drank alcohol and she had also confided in him about her mental health.

He said: “Maisy told me that she was bipolar.

"This tends to come out when she’s had a drink.

"Maisy told me not to tell anyone but she said she heard voices in her head that told her to do things.

"This was when she had a drink.

"They tell her to go missing in the forest and hurt herself.

"I haven’t spoken to anyone about what she told me because I didn’t want to disobey her trust."

Maisy's friends saw her heading in the direction of her home in Walsingham Drive some time after 8.30pm but she never returned home and was reported missing.

Marion Allen found Maisy's body in the park off this street the next day at about 9am.

She saw what she thought was a Guy Faulks figure underneath the monkey bars.

As she got nearer she realised it was a young girl and there were no signs of life.

She said: "She was so obviously deceased I knew there was nothing I could do."

Michaela Flynn, from Runcorn Police, said: "I could see there was a female lying on the ground."

An examination of her body showed there was alcohol in her system which pathologist Dr Jonathan Medcalf said "could well have influenced her state of mind and her actions."

Her cause of death was concluded to be neck compression due to hanging.

Alan Moore, senior coroner for Cheshire ruled Maisy Lewis' death was one of suicide.

If you have been affected by this article, call the Samaritans for free on 116123.

Alternatively Papyrus, dedicated to helping people under 35 at risk of suicide, via its HopelineUK service.

Visit papyrus-uk.org/hopelineuk/ or call 0800 068 4141, text 07786209697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org