A woman who died when she was hit by a train stepped calmly onto the track, an inquest heard.

Ida Ruth Ellis Winbourne, who was known as Ruth, suffered from depression and bipolar affective disorder.

The inquest at Eastbourne Magistrates Court heard Mrs Winbourne, 68, had taken a taxi from her home in Sidley Road, Eastbourne, to Hampden Park railway station on February 12 this year, and thrown herself in front of the 3.48pm train travelling from Eastbourne to London.

Train driver Robert Gertner, from Clapham, said he was travelling between 70mph and 75mph towards Hampden Park when he saw a person waiting for a train.

He said: "They (Mrs Winbourne) appeared to be getting closer to the edge of the platform and I sounded my horn as a warning.

"She turned and looked at me, smiled and then calmly stepped off the platform and in front of the train."

Mr Gertner heard a loud bang and applied the emergency brakes immediately but it took the train ten carriage lengths to stop.

The court heard CCTV showed Mrs Winbourne had been the only person on the platform of the station, which is unmanned and had no ticket barriers.

A post mortem showed she died from multiple injuries consistent with being hit by a train.

When police arrived at the station they found a handbag which contained photographic identification and a key. They went to Mrs Winbourne's home, where they found a suicide note.

Mrs Winbourne had been taking lithium and diazepam for depression for many years. Her father had killed himself by jumping in front of a train in 1951 when Mrs Winbourne was 14. Sarah Rees, Mrs Winbourne's daughter, said her mother had taken great interest in her father's death.

Mrs Rees said she had a good relationship with her mother and they spoke on a daily basis. She had last seen her the day before her death where they had "a deep and meaningful chat". She said her mother seemed upbeat.

Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of suicide and said he was in no doubt Mrs Winbourne had taken her own life while the balance of her mind was disturbed.

He said: "There are cases where people make the decision and take the occasion on the basis of no more than a minute's preparation. In this case it had been planned over hours."