Coroner

About the Coroner

Coroners are independent Judicial Officers appointed by the Local Authority to investigate any sudden or unexplained death. They act independently of both Local and Central Government and are required to act in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down by law. The Berkshire Coroner has a team of Officers who support him in his work.

Coroners

HM Coroner for Berkshire is Peter Bedford whose office is at:

Yeomanry House,
131 Castle Hill,
Reading,
RG1 7TA

Tel: 0118 9015193 or
Tel: 0118 9015447 (Secretary)
Fax: 0118 9015448
E-Mail: peter.Bedford@reading.gov.uk

Deputy and Assistant Deputy Coroners

The Deputy and Assistant Deputy Coroners act when the Coroner is not available and have the same duties and powers.

Colin Helmuth
Deputy Coroner for Berkshire
Messrs Colemans Solicitors
27 Marlow Road
Maidenhead
SL6 7AE

Nigel Seager
Assistant Deputy Coroner for Berkshire
Messrs Brownes Solicitors
3 High Street
Marlow
SL71AU

Anna Burnside
Assistant Deputy Coroner for Berkshire
Messrs Penningtons Solicitors
Newbury House
20 Kings Road West
Newbury
RG14 5XR

When is a death reported to the Coroner?

• When the deceased has not been treated by a Doctor during any illness.
• When a Doctor attending the deceased has not seen them within 14 days before they died or after death. 
• Where death occurs during an operation or before recovery from the effect of any anaesthetic. 
• When the death is sudden and unexplained or in suspicious circumstances.  
• When the death may be due to an industrial injury or disease, or to an accident, violence, neglect or abortion, or any kind of poisoning. 
• When death occurs in Police custody or in a prison.

How is a death reported to the Coroner?

Where a death occurs in any of the above circumstances, it is usually reported to the Coroner by the Police or by a Doctor called to the death if it was sudden or accidental. Death may also be reported by a Doctor who was treating the deceased if the death was unexpected. The Registrar may also report a death to the Coroner.

Once a death has been reported to the Coroner, the Registrar is unable to register the death until the Coroner's enquiries are complete. As these enquiries may take time, relatives need to contact the Coroner before any funeral arrangements are made.

What steps will the Coroner take?

The Coroner may be able to establish that death was due to natural causes and that a Doctor is able to issue a medical certificate, giving a cause of death. In these circumstances, the family will need to attend a Register Office in order to formally register the death.

If the Coroner is unable to do so, then he will arrange for the deceased to be taken to a local hospital where, as required by law, a post mortem examination will be performed. If this reveals that death was due to natural causes, then no Inquest is required. In such a case, the Coroner will inform the family and will issue a document to enable them to attend at a Register Office to register the death.

If the Coroner establishes that death was not due to natural causes, then he is obliged to hold an Inquest.

Inquests

An Inquest is an enquiry into the death of the deceased. It is not a trial. The purpose of the Inquest is to establish the identity of the deceased, when, where and in what circumstances the death occurred and also to establish the facts required by the Registrar. In most cases the Coroner will open and adjourn an Inquest promptly and then issue a form to enable the funeral to take place.

That adjourned Inquest will then be resumed at a later date to hear evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding the death. Evidence may involve witnesses being called, in which case they are legally obliged to attend and may face penalty if they fail to do so. The nature of the evidence to be called at an Inquest is entirely at the discretion of the Coroner.

How is the death registered after an inquest?

Once the Inquest has been held, the Coroner will send a report to the Registrar in the district where the death occurred. The Registrar will then register the death without the need of any family or friends having to attend to do so.

Documentation

After an Inquest, the Coroner will inform the Registrar of the name and address of the person who should be notified that the death has been registered. The Registrar will send that person a form for Social Security purposes which needs to be completed and returned as soon as possible.

That person may then need to purchase some Death Certificates. This is a certified copy of the entry in the Death Register and a fee will be charged. Certificates may be required as formal proof by banks, insurance companies, pension providers and the vehicle registration authorities.

Where there is a delay between the death and the holding of Inquest, it is possible for the Coroner to issue an Interim Death Certificate if requested. The family should contact the Coroner responsible in those circumstances.

How can I contact the Coroner?

The Coroners' Officers should be contacted in the first instance. They work in districts and are available as follows:

Slough District:

Bob Hutchinson and Gordon Embling
Coroner's Office
Thames Valley Police
Langley Police Station
Langley
Slough
SL3 8NF

Tel: 01753 211826 / 01753 211827
Fax: 01753 211823

Maidenhead District:

Paul Cadman
Coroner's Office
Thames Valley Police
Bracknell Police Station
The Broadway
Bracknell
RG12 1AD

Tel: 01344 823432
Fax: 01344 823499

Wokingham, Bracknell & Ascot District:

Brian Thomas
Coroner's Office
Bracknell Police Station
Thames Valley Police
The Broadway
Bracknell
RG12 1AD

Tel: 01344 823432
Fax: 01344 823499

Reading District:

Nick Mainprice, James Sykes and Maureen Donnison
Coroner's Office
Royal Berkshire Hospital
London Road
Reading
RG1 5AN

Tel: 0118 9863116
Fax: 0118 9756594
Email: nick.mainprice@reading.gov.uk
James.sykes@reading.gov.uk
Maureen.donnison@reading.gov.uk

West Berks & Newbury District:

Neil Woods
Coroner's Office
Newbury Police Station
Mill Lane
Newbury
RG14 5QU

Tel: 01635 264745
Fax: 01635 264651

Office Opening Hours

The offices are open during the following hours:

Monday to Friday
8.30am - 12.30pm
2.00pm - 4.00pm

Weekends and all other times via the Police to the on-call Coroner's Officer.

The Coroner's Charter

The Coroner's Charter gives further details and explains the standards of service you should expect, the way you should be treated in all your contacts with the Coroner and his staff and what to do if things go wrong

•   Berkshire Coroner's Service Charter (pdf 116kb)