A 22-year-old left heartbroken following a relationship break-up was found dead three hours after her worried father asked police to check on her.

Isabella Goddard was discovered submerged in a bath at her home in Canterbury on April 13 last year.

An inquest at Maidstone's Archbishop's Palace has been told how Isabella, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had a history of mental health problems, had returned to the city from her family home in the Cayman Islands the day before her death.

She had been living with her partner of two years, Kieran Wilson, in St Edmunds Road.

But she was left devastated when Mr Wilson ended their relationship by phone while she was staying with her parents in the Caribbean last March.

Her father, Peter Goddard, told how Isabella had taken the news badly, and had made an attempt on her life as she struggled to cope.

But after Isabella began regular visits with her psychiatrist and counsellor in the Cayman Islands, and was put back on an effective medication regime, her mental state greatly improved.

"The difference was remarkable - she was back to herself again," said Mr Goddard. "She suddenly became a person I didn't really recognise to be her."

Isabella, 22, had been due to return to Canterbury on April 18 but because of her improved mental state flew back six days earlier.

Her father said: "I think she had been looking forward to seeing Kieran just to show him how she had changed from the depressive personality she had been before, to being the girl she had been when they first met. She wanted to speak to him face-to-face, to gain some closure."

On April 12, Isabella flew back to the UK - a move that had been approved by her psychiatrist and psychologist.

But she was left distraught after Mr Wilson told her at 1am the following morning that he had moved on.

Mr Wilson told the inquest: "There had been other occasions when she was very upset, and I was there for her on and was able to help support her. On this occasion, she was alone.

"We continued to speak after and she was calmer when we ended the phone call.

"I knew she was upset. I didn't think she was going to commit suicide."

Mr Goddard said: "Mr Wilson was sufficiently concerned about her reaction to call us up in Cayman and tell us Isabella had been crying for 35 minutes. He said we should call her. We were 5,000 miles away.

"We had a call with her for about 17 minutes - she sounded very calm on the phone. She was talking about letting Kieran have her support dog Tilly, who she was very close to. My wife started worrying she was having suicidal ideations again.

"We tried to get her to focus on her plans."

The next morning, her parents awoke to find Isabella had not responded to messages sent the previous night.

Concerned, Mr Goddard called Mr Wilson a number of times but he said he was busy at work and unable to check on her.

But Mr Wilson disputes this timeline, and says he was not contacted by Mr Goddard until just after 3pm.

Mr Goddard called police at 2.43pm. In a recording of the phone call played before the court, he explained his family was concerned they had not heard from Isabella for 14 hours, and asked if a police officer could visit her home to check on her.

"I didn't think it was appropriate, for someone considered a suicide risk, to wait for up to four hours to check on her..."

Answering detailed questions from the handler, he said: "She's bipolar and has literally just returned home and broken up with her boyfriend.

"She's unfortunately tried to commit suicide before, so we are very concerned. She has a history of depression and suicidal thoughts."

At the end of the call, the handler appears to say: "What we'll do is we'll go to her property to carry out a welfare check."

But no timeframe was given.

Mr Goddard said: "Unfortunately, what I wasn't told was - depending on how they grade the risk posed by the call - it could be up to four hours for somebody to go check on her welfare.

"Had I known at 2.43pm police would take up to four hours to perform a welfare check, I would have got my sister-in-law who lives an hour away, or some of her friends who live two minutes away, to go check on her.

"I didn't think it was appropriate, for someone considered a suicide risk, to wait for up to four hours to check on her."

Having not heard from police, and growing increasingly worried, Mr Goddard and Isabella's brother tried desperately to reach Mr Wilson.

"At about 5pm, I rang up the police helpline again," he said. "Again, I wasn't given any timescale as to when they might get around to doing that. I was somewhat frustrated."

Sometime after 5pm, Mr Wilson left work and headed to St Edmunds Road to check on Isabella.

He told the court how he had entered the property using a spare key, to find the walls "dripping with water", and Isabella's dog's fur covered in moisture.

Calling out for "Bella", he climbed the stairs to discover her submerged in the bath, with the water still running.

He pulled her out and called 999, before attempting to resuscitate her.

Paramedics arrived on the scene at 5.57pm, but Isabella was tragically pronounced dead shortly after. At an inquest opening in July, the cause of her death was revealed to have been “submersion under water due to intoxication”.

Police arrived a short while later to carry out a welfare check, only to discover paramedics were already at the scene.

Isabella's family were allegedly not contacted by police, and were instead informed of their daughter's death by Mr Wilson at about 8pm.

"We were on a plane just 48 hours after Isabella had been on the same plane, to come back to the UK," said Mr Goddard. "We were never able to see Isabella again."

The inquest continues.

In coming days, the court is due to hear medical evidence that will seek to narrow down the time of Isabella's death; as well as from police.

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