A CORONER has ruled that a “very much-loved mum” died as a result of a crash on the M6.

Rachel Warwick, 50, from Whitehaven, died following a single-vehicle collision on the southbound carriageway, near Kendal, in the early hours of Sunday, January 13, 2019.

In an inquest held on Tuesday, Kally Cheema, senior coroner for Cumbria, ruled that Mrs Warwick died as a result of a collision when the car she was driving, a Nissan Almera belonging to her husband Stephen, left the motorway and collided with a tree in the verge.

During the inquest the court was told of Mrs Warwick’s battle with mental health and her efforts in the past to combat this.

Having been discharged from mental health services in 2017, both she and her husband had made efforts to gain help again in the weeks before her death.

A statement from Mr Warwick, read to the court, said: “I woke up in the early hours of the morning and got dressed straight away to go and look for her. I realised she had taken my car.

“I called her mobile, and she answered saying she wanted to get away from here and that she was on the motorway.

“I kept begging her to come home.”

Paul Morton, a Highways England traffic officer, was the one who found Mrs Warwick following the collision.

In the statement read to the court, he recalled how he had been driving in lane one when he noticed a car in the verge off the motorway.

Having checked the vehicle and then returning with a torch he found Mrs Warwick in the car. She was later pronounced dead by the ambulance service.

In her concluding statement Ms Cheema said: “Rachel Warwick was 50-years-old and lived at home with her husband and daughter.

“She had history of mental health issues dating back to 2015 where she attempted to take her own life.

“On January 13, 2019 at 5.10am, Mrs Warwick was discovered in her husband’s car that had come off the M6 southbound motorway and had collided with a tree.

“Mrs Warwick had been experiencing low mood in the days prior to her death. The appropriate conclusion ought to be a road traffic collision.”

In a statement at the time of her death, Mrs Warwick’s family described her as “very much loved mam to Zoe, wife to Stephen, daughter to Rita and sister to Martin and Kathryn”.

“The sudden and tragic loss of Rachel has caused us all extreme heartache, she will be missed by everyone who knew her,” it added.

For anyone that may need any help, call Samaritans on 116 123