A heavily pregnant mother drowned her three small children in the bath and scrawled ‘I love you x’ on their bodies before leaping to her death, an inquest heard yesterday.

Police who went to Fiona Anderson’s home after finding her body at the bottom of a multi-storey car park discovered the children tucked up in their mother’s bed with their teddies.

All three had lipstick kisses on their forehead, and messages written on the wall included: ‘I love them and I’m going to keep them safe.’

Tragedy: Fiona Anderson pictured on CCTV at the house where her ex-boyfriend was staying two hours before she killed herself. Unknown to anyone else her three children were already dead

Siblings: Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden were two months from having another sister

Anderson, 23, killed the two boys and a girl aged between 11 months and three after her former partner, the children’s father, said he was in a new relationship.

The tragic deaths left social services in the dock yesterday as the inquest heard the family were known to child protection officers.

Social workers visited them more than 50 times between 2009 and last year and were aware the two older children had been sleeping in a double buggy and fed on biscuits.

A serious case review by independent expert Ron Lock for Suffolk Local Safeguarding Children Board said the family were considered ‘hard to reach’ because of Anderson’s ‘unwavering and determined’ refusal to engage with staff.

Inquest: The hearing today heard 'Fiona Anderson loved her children but that she was extremely emotionally disturbed' when she killed them

Captured: Fiona Anderson clutching a teddy bear minutes before she fell to her death in Lowestoft

Child protection plans were allowed to ‘drift’ and while legal intervention was considered, no court action was taken. Anderson’s refusal to co-operate also meant her mental health was never assessed. Mr Lock said the deaths were not foreseeable but concluded: ‘If the children had been placed into care this could have avoided this tragic outcome.’

Anderson was seen wandering around Lowestoft in Suffolk clutching a teddy bear for 90 minutes on April 15 last year before jumping to her death. Her unborn baby, who was due two months later, died with her.

When police went to her flat in the town they found the bodies of Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden.

She had written ‘I love you x’ with a small heart on their stomachs and they all had lipstick kisses on their foreheads. Scrawled on the walls were messages including: ‘I put them to bed with their bears – they loved their bears.’ Another said: ‘They’re cuddled up together sleeping. They look so peaceful.’

Tragedy: Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden, all died at their home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, having been drowned by their mother

Loss: Fiona Anderson was heavily pregnant when she died and her death led police to her home where the bodies of her three children were found. She had split from ex Craig McLelland, pictured today

Officers discovered evidence they had been drowned in the bath. A post-mortem examination found nothing to suggest they had been restrained or assaulted.

Anderson had the names of each of her children written on her body, along with the name Eve for her unborn daughter. Chief Inspector Andy Smith told the hearing in Bury St Edmunds that Anderson had argued the night before with the children’s father, Craig McClellan, after he told her he was in a new relationship.

She told him, ‘Say goodnight to the children as it’s the last time you’ll see them’, before stabbing him, the inquest heard.

Mr McClellan, who also lives in Lowestoft, was treated at a hospital but told police he had been attacked in the street by a stranger. ‘He later told us he lied to protect Fiona and stop the children being taken into care,’ Mr Smith said.

The officer added that a torn-up letter found in a bin provided a ‘harrowing insight’ into Anderson’s state of mind.

‘She felt unable to cope with the situation and apologetically outlined her intention to take the children with her,’ he said. ‘In her words: “A mother never abandons her children”.’ Coroner Dr Peter Dean said: ‘It seems there were missed opportunities to engage with a non-engaging family.

‘It was perhaps wise, instead of doing the same thing for 18 months, to stop what you’re doing and see if there is a different way.’

Dr Dean said he didn’t want to ‘imply liability’, but ‘the required steps were not approached to psychologically assess’ Anderson.

Bereft: Father Craig McLellan pictured with his children (left to right) Addy Kyden and Levina and arriving with his mother to lay flowers after their deaths

Investigation: Police found the children in their mother's double bed and she had also written messages all over the walls

Police: Chief detective Inspector Andy Smith (left) and Bob Cook, chairman of the Suffolk safeguarding panel

Recording a verdict of unlawful killing for the three children and suicide for their mother, he added: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that Fiona dearly loved her children.

‘It’s clear – through her abnormal perception of her circumstances and her subsequent actions of what she thought was in their best interests at the time – the need to help these families and spot psychological and behaviour problems. She was clearly a social and psychological risk and what she did was extreme.’

The coroner said he would write to Health Minister Norman Lamb about the case because it highlighted the need for more awareness of parents with mental health issues and how to provide support for them.

Mr Smith, speaking on behalf of Mr McClellan, said: ‘He loves his children dearly and always will. He hopes that following today’s proceedings he can try to move forward and rebuild his life.’

Sue Cook, Suffolk County Council’s director for children and young people’s services, said: ‘Some families can be harder to engage with than others which can make the task of protecting children even more complex.’

The council had introduced changes following recommendations in the serious case review, she added.