Wiltshire coroner David Masters today returned a verdict of suicide on teenage swimmer Nikki Dunbar.

Nikki, 17, of Crown Close, Pewsham, was found hanged from a banister at her home by her mother, Maureen, in November last year.

The inquest in Devizes was told that Nikki had alleged she was raped two days earlier but tests showed no evidence of physical or sexual attack.

Mr Masters was told Nikki had been prescribed antidepressants by her GP three weeks before she died.

In a statement Mrs Dunbar said: "I wondered whether we missed something we could have picked up. I thought she had mild depression. The sort every teenage girl with hormones and boyfriend trouble has.

"I don't think her suicide was a cry for help."

Mr Masters recorded a suicide verdict and said: "What a tragic waste of a young life. She had so much to look forward to."

Nikki was a leading member of the Calne Alpha Swimming Club and represented the county at synchronised swimming. She had returned from a major competition, where she finished third, on the night she said she had been raped.