A health trust has admitted it let down a patient with mental health issues before her sudden and tragic death.

The Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust (KMPT) today said it did not care for Sarah Stringer "as well as we should have".

An inquest into Miss Stringer's death concluded this week and found that despite her family trying to raise the issues with mental health teams in Shepway, the state of her mental health was never formally assessed by professionals.

The coroner, Christopher Morris, ruled out a verdict of suicide as he could not be sure Miss Stringer, of Cheriton Road, Folkestone, intended to take her own life.

He said she was "labouring under a delusion she was waiting for a boat to take her away from Folkestone Harbour Arm" when she entered the water at around 5.20am on November 22 last year.

The trust has also vowed to improve its services, staff training and has already increased the number of employees working in the mental health teams.

In a statement to KentOnline, the KMPT said: "Truly listening to the families and the loved ones of those we care for is absolutely essential and is at the heart of good care.

"It is clear that in caring for Sarah, we did not do this as well as we should have.

"We extend not only our sincerest condolences to those who loved her, but our commitment to change things for the better, in her memory.

“Since the tragic loss of Sarah a number of specific changes and improvements have been made to our services, including increasing staffing.

"We are clear that good quality, consistent and regular training which includes contributions from families and carers is essential and we are committed to delivering this right across our whole organisation."