A girl of 12 hanged herself after struggling to cope with the death of her mother from breast cancer, an inquest heard.

Isabel Ann Richardson began self-harming after Karina Richardson, 37, passed away in 2010.

But despite speaking to a school nurse, she was overcome by her sadness, and on May 12 was discovered hanging in her bedroom by her father Stephen.

Isabel Ann Richardson, from Norwich, was struggling to cope after losing her mother to breast cancer in 2010

Before her death, Isabel, from Norfolk, and her father had approached her school to ask for support. She had also used photo-sharing website Instagram to upload self-harm pictures, prompting another parent to contact teachers.

However at the inquest into her death on Wednesday, a coroner said she was 'concerned' about how the Hewett School, in Norwich, had dealt with Isabel's problems.

Jacqueline Lake told Norfolk coroner's court: 'I place no blame on any individual, however I am concerned about the robustness of the pastoral care at the Hewett for supporting pupils, particularly when it is known they have problems.'

Mr Richardson told the inquest that he had spoken to his daughter about the self-harming but she assured him she had stopped. 'Isabel seemed a lot better since the meetings at school,' he said.

His daughter had been referred to a bereavement charity and was due to speak to a counsellor, the court heard. Yet on May 12, at around 6pm, Mr Richardson called up to his daughter's room and asked her what she wanted for dinner.

He said that when she did not reply, he assumed she was listening to music. It was only when her brother Kyle phoned and said he had seen more disturbing pictures online that Mr Richardson rushed upstairs and found Isabel hanging.

She died in hospital six days later with her father by her side.

Despite speaking to staff at Hewett School (pictured) with her father, Isabel hanged herself on May 12

Describing her death, the 48-year-old said: 'I never thought for a second she would do anything like take her own life. I will always think I could have done more.'

In a statement read in court, he added that Isabel told the school's pastoral staff that she self-harmed because she 'missed her mum'.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Coroner Lake said: 'Although she hanged herself, this could have been a cry for help.' She listed Isabel's cause of death as brain injury, cardiac arrest and hanging.

Paying tribute to the young pupil in May, teachers described her as 'hard-working, pleasant and polite'.

Speaking after the inquest, Hewett School headmaster Tom Leverage said: 'The welfare of students is always uppermost in our concerns and we will carefully consider the coroner's comments.

'We already take pastoral care very seriously but if there are things we can improve, we will.'