A Christian teenager took her own life over “misplaced” fears of telling her parents she may be a lesbian, an inquest has heard.

Elisabeth Lowe, known as Lizzie, had told her friends she may be gay, the Manchester Evening News reports.

The 14-year-old’s friends said she was worried about telling her parents about her sexuality.

One friend told the inquest: "She said she wasn't sure if they (parents) would be ok with it. I told her that I didn't think it would be like that but she did not want to tell them."

Another told the paper that Lizzie was “finding it hard to connect with God as she thought she was lying to him”.

Lizzie’s father Kevin said if their “out-going and fun-loving” daughter had spoken to them about her sexuality, it “wouldn’t have come as much surprise”.

“She was very mature, she knew what she wanted and she knew her own mind,” he told the inquest. “We would have been very supportive.”

Lizzie's lifeless body was found in the Millgate Fields area of Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury at 11.15pm on 10 September, after one of her friends told her mother about a text from Lizzie which ended with “...stay strong. I am sorry.”

The mother then alerted Lizzie’s parents and the police and a search was conducted.

Paramedics could not rusticate the teen, who had no diagnosed mental health problems.

She had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time.

Some of her friends admitted to the coroner that they too shared feelings of “sadness” with the teenager and would talk regularly about self-harming and having suicidal thoughts.

Det Insp David Turner, the police officer in charge of overseeing the investigation into her death, told the inquest he could rule out any third party involvement.

He said: “Despite the fact that suicide was clearly an issue with these children, I found no evidence of what is sometimes called a ‘suicide pact'."

Senior coroner Nigel Meadows recorded a verdict that Lizzie killed herself. “She was a successful student but was going through issues of developing maturity and exploring her sexuality and was struggling to come to terms with that against her faith beliefs.

“It is clear she was struggling and she was talking to others about it.

“She never had the opportunity to share her concerns with her parents.

“But I have absolutely no doubt they would have been supportive in their reaction.”

Anyone in need of confidential support can contact the Samaritans in the UK 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90.

Belfast Telegraph