A suicidal teenager told a care worker how she intended to kill herself just days before she died, an inquest has heard.

Notley High School pupil Rebecca Watkins, 16, was found hanged at a care home in Brandon, Suffolk, in June 2009.

Rebecca, who was placed on the child protection register in 2007, had been admitted to a psychiatric unit earlier in 2009, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and bulimia.

A senior care assistant at Evergreen Children's Home, told an inquest Rebecca had revealed her planned suicide method to another staff member on June 14, two days before she died.

She claims the staff member failed to register the incident.

But care home owner Jamie Brannigan and the employee concerned dispute the claims.

An inquest into Rebecca's death opened in Bury St Edmunds yesterday and is expected to last a week.

Full story in tomorrow's Braintree and Witham Times