Teacher died after falling from mobile home on A5 – “beautiful” woman who “spoiled” her grandchildren

An inquest has clarified the tragic details leading to the death of Sheilagh Alexandra Warner following the crash on the A5 outside Shrewsbury on May 16 this year.

Shropshire Deputy Coroner Heath Westerman concluded that 61-year-old Ms Warner died as a result of falling from a moving car.

Earlier, Mr Westerman read a moving statement from Ms Warner's daughter, Charlotte Bourg, in which she described how her mother was born in Scotland in 1963, the youngest of six children, and how the family later emigrated to Durban in South Africa.

Mrs Warner is said to have a “deep Christian faith” and met her future husband, Brantford Warner, in South Africa.

The couple, who had two children, moved to Shropshire in 1987 and lived, as described, in a cottage with “crooked walls” and a “leaky roof”.

The hearing heard that Ms Warner had worked as a secretary before training to be an English teacher – and “was always trying to further her education”. She worked at both Stoke Heath Prison and Shrewsbury Prison before the latter closed.

Eventually, Ms Warner came to Adcote School as an English teacher and was in the process of completing her Masters degree.

Ms Bourg's statement said her mother was a “proud grandmother” and “adored” Ms Bourg's two children, who knew Ms Warner as “Nonny.”

Ms Bourg said: “Whenever there were pajama parties, they came back with the biggest smiles because it was literally chaos and there were no rules.”

The investigation found that during her son's childhood, Ms Warner lovingly hand-sewn Nike emblems onto his clothing due to a lack of money.

Described as “so talented,” Ms. Warner also made her own wedding dress and that of her daughter.

It was reported at the hearing that Ms Warner and her husband would take “every opportunity” to go on holiday in their motorhome – longer holidays would be spent in their favourite place, France, and shorter trips would be to destinations in the UK.

The statement added that Ms Warner was a “beautiful and vibrant person, inside and out” who “will be missed by all of us.”

Mr Westerman read out a series of statements detailing the background to the tragic events of May 16. He explained that Mr and Mrs Warner travelled to Brighton with their sister Fiona Gibson and her husband David in their Peugeot Elddis camper van.

The investigation revealed that there had been a previous incident involving the side door of the motorhome when Mr and Mrs Warner were returning from a trip.

On this occasion the door flew open while the vehicle was in motion, whereupon Mr Warner fitted another hook and eye mechanism to the door to prevent it from opening.

The coroner read Mr Warner's statement in which he said they had left their home in Shrewsbury at around 9.20am and were joining the A5 eastbound when the incident occurred.

At the hearing it was established that he was sitting in the front seat, Mr Gibson in the passenger seat and Mrs Gibson and Ms Warner behind.

Mr Westerman stated that Mr Warner said he heard a bang and knew that the side door leading to the living area of ​​the motorhome was open.

He said he looked in the side mirror and saw his wife fall into the street.

Mr Warner stopped the vehicle and immediately called 999, while Mr and Mrs Gibson ran to help Mrs Warner.

Mr Warner said he believed the accident happened when his wife went to check that the two were safe in the car.

He said: “She was a lady who double checked everything and I'm sure she got up to double check the door when it opened and sucked her out.”

Mr Westerman also read a statement from Ms Gibson, who described seeing Ms Warner standing at the door, but said she “could not see her hands and had no idea what she was doing with them”.

She said: “The next second the cabin door burst open and she was thrown out.”

Ms Gibson added: “I think she was worried because the cabin door had been opened earlier and she wanted to make sure we were all safe when it was blown open.”

In her statement, she also stated that shortly before the incident, Ms Warner had pointed to the spot where her father had died in a tragic road accident several years earlier.

Mr Westerman explained that after the incident, two doctors attended to Ms Warner before paramedics arrived and took over.

She was flown to Royal Stoke University Hospital where she sadly succumbed to her injuries.

The coroner concluded that Ms Warner died of a traumatic hypoxic-ischemic brain injury following a fall from a moving car, before expressing his sincere condolences to her family.