Statistics on deaths reported to coroners – England and Wales, 2008
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Coroners Statistics. This annual bulletin presents statistics on the workload of coroners in England and Wales. Information is provided on the number of deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations and inquests held and conclusions recorded at inquests. It also covers treasure finds reported to coroners, treasure inquests held under the Treasure Act, and proportion of treasure verdicts returned. The data are collected via annual statistical returns completed by coroners.

Data on deaths reported to the coroner are available by gender, age (of deceased with an inquest conclusion recorded) and coroner area. Information is also available on deaths in state detention (including those individuals subject Deprivation of Liberty orders), inquest conclusions and deaths abroad.

Statistics on deaths reported 
to coroners 
England and Wales, 2008 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
 
 
Published 7 May 2009 
 

 
 
Statistics on deaths reported to 
coroners 
England and Wales, 2008 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Also available on the Ministry of Justice website at 
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/coronersannual.htm
 
 

 
1 
Executive summary 
This bulletin presents statistics of coroners’ work during the calendar year 
2008, including deaths reported, post-mortems, and inquests (including 
those for treasure and treasure trove). These figures are used to monitor 
coroners’ workload, throughput of cases, and percentages of post-mortems 
and inquests. 
Main points 
• Some 234,800 deaths were reported to coroners in 2008, a rise of 300 
(0.1 per cent) from the 2007 figure. (Tables 1,2, and 3) 
• The proportion of all registered deaths reported to coroners rose from 
46.5 per cent in 2007 to an estimated 46.7 per cent in 2008, in line with 
the prevailing trend. (Table 2) 
• The percentage of cases involving post-mortem examinations, as a 
proportion of all deaths reported to coroners, fell from 47 per cent in 
2007 to 46 per cent in 2008, continuing the existing downward trend. 
(Table 3) 
• Inquests were opened on 31,000 deaths, representing just over 13 per 
cent of all deaths reported to coroners, similar to the level reported in 
2007. (Table 3) 
• As in recent years, the most common verdicts returned at inquests were 
death by accident or misadventure (in 32 per cent of cases), deaths from 
natural causes (26 per cent) and suicide (11 per cent). (Tables 4 and 6) 
• Verdicts of suicide rose by 10 per cent in 2008 compared to the previous 
year; there were rises in the number of verdicts of death by accident or 
misadventure, from natural causes, and from industrial diseases. There 
was also a large rise in the number of non-specific verdicts, a category 
which includes narrative verdicts which are a factual record of how and 
in what circumstances the death occurred; often used where the cause 
of death does not easily fit any of the short-form categories. (Table 6) 
 
 
 

 
2 
Introduction and important note on counting 
methodology 
This bulletin presents statistics of deaths reported to coroners in England 
and Wales in 2008 in accordance with section 28 of the Coroners Act 1988. 
Information is provided on deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem 
examinations and inquests held, and verdicts returned at inquests. 
Since 1995, coroners have been asked to report on those deaths notified to 
them which resulted in no further action being taken by them (known as 
“NFA cases”), that is, there was no inquest, no post-mortem, and no 
certificate was issued by them for registration purposes. 
Prior to 1995, however, NFA cases were not reported in the annual 
statistics. It should be noted therefore that in Tables 2 and 3, which show 
figures over a number of years, figures for the total number of deaths 
reported to coroners since 1995 are not directly comparable to those for 
earlier years, as they have been counted on a different basis. 
Because of differences between coroners as to how these NFA cases were 
reported in their figures, since 2005 all coroners have been asked to include 
these cases within the figures for all deaths reported that required neither an 
inquest nor a post-mortem, with separate figures for NFA cases only if the 
sex of the deceased was not known. A consistent time series for deaths 
reported excluding NFA cases is therefore not available. 
 
 

 
Deaths reported (Tables 1, 2 and 3, Figures 1 and 2) 
The number of deaths reported to coroners in 2008 rose by 300 (0.1 per 
cent) from the previous year, from 234,500 in 2007 to 234,800 during 2008, 
the highest annual total to date. The proportion of registered deaths in the 
calendar year 2008 that were reported to coroners in 2008 rose by a small 
amount from 46.5 per cent to an estimated 46.7 per cent, continuing a long-
term trend. This proportion is also the highest figure recorded to date. 
Figure 1: Registered deaths, and deaths reported to coroners, England 
and Wales, 1950-2008 
 
Thousands of deaths
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2008
Deaths reported to coroners
Registered deaths (w hole column)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTE: The figures for deaths reported to coroners in the columns to the right of the vertical 
dashed line include NFA cases, while those to the left exclude NFA cases (see above). 
 
The long-term trend, as well as that of the proportion of deaths reported, is 
upwards. Since the Shipman murders came to light about a decade ago, 
there has been more concern about proper process. In the longer term, this 
rise is probably also due in part to the growing use, over at least the last 
twenty years, of deputising services by general practitioners, leading to 
greater referrals to coroners. 
 
 
 
 
 
3 

 
 
Figure 2: Deaths reported to coroners as a percentage of registered 
deaths, England and Wales, 1995-2008 
 
4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Percentage of registered deaths
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Post-mortem examinations held and inquests opened 
(Tables 1, 2, and 3, Figures 3a and 3b) 
Post-mortem examinations were ordered by coroners in 46 per cent of all 
cases reported to them in 2008. This was just under one percentage point 
lower than in 2007, continuing the long-term downward trend. The actual 
number of deaths reported to coroners in 2008 where a post-mortem was 
held was 108,400, some 2,000 fewer than in the year before. 
Figure 3a: Post-mortems as a percentage of deaths reported to 
coroners, England and Wales, 1995-2008 
 
 
  
Percentage of deaths reported
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1995 1996 1997
1998 1999 2000 2001
2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Inquests were opened on 31,000 deaths reported to coroners in 2008, about 
200 more than in 2007, and the highest annual number since at least 1980. 
Inquest cases represented just over one in eight of all the deaths reported to 
coroners in 2008, the same proportion of the total as in the previous year. 
Figure 3b: Inquests as a percentage of deaths reported to coroners, 
England and Wales, 1995-2008 
 Percentage of deaths reported
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1995
1996 1997
1998 1999
2000 2001
2002 2003
2004 2005
2006 2007
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Post-mortems in inquest cases (Table 3) 
When an inquest is held a post-mortem examination has usually been 
conducted, and in 2008 post-mortems were conducted in 92 per cent of 
such cases. This is a marginally lower proportion than in the previous year, 
and continues a shallow declining trend over the past decade or so. Prior to 
the late 1990s, the holding of an inquest without a post-mortem examination 
was comparatively rare, accounting for around 2 per cent or less of inquest 
cases every year. In 2008 there were nearly 2,500 inquests without a post-
mortem, over six times the number so reported ten years ago. 
 
Post-mortems in non-inquest cases (Table 3) 
In the majority of cases referred to coroners there is no inquest. In 2008, 
there were just under 80,000 non-inquest cases where a post-mortem was 
held, and the percentage of non-inquest cases that required a post-mortem 
fell to 39 per cent. This proportion has fallen steadily in recent years; in 
1995 it was 56 per cent of all non-inquest cases. Note that Figure 3a above 
shows the proportion of all deaths reported to coroners where a post-
mortem was held, whether there was an inquest or not. 
 
5 

 
6 
                                           
Cases requiring neither an inquest nor a post-mortem (Table 3) 
There were also 124,000 cases reported to coroners where there was 
neither an inquest nor a post-mortem. This particular category of case has 
been increasing in number in recent years. In addition, as a proportion of all 
coroners’ cases, those where there was neither an inquest nor a post-
mortem examination have increased, from around 40 per cent or just above 
in the late 1990s, to 53 per cent in 2008. 
 
Inquest verdicts returned (Tables 4, 5 and 6, Figures 
4, 5 and 6) 
Verdicts were returned at nearly 29,000 inquests in 2008, 1,600 more than 
in 2007. As in previous years the most common verdicts in 2008 were: 
death by accident or misadventure (9,200, 32 per cent of all verdicts), 
deaths from natural causes (7,600, 26 per cent), and suicide (3,300, 11 per 
cent). Non-specific verdicts (see below) also accounted for 11 per cent of 
verdicts in 20081. 
A number of categories of verdict experienced increases in 2008 compared 
to the previous year, including verdicts of death from natural causes, up 550 
(8 per cent) on the 2007 figure to 7,600, and non-specific verdicts, up 410 
(14 per cent) to over 3,300. The last-mentioned rise is at least in part due to 
the increasing use of what are known as ‘narrative verdicts’ by some 
coroners (see the paragraph on trends, below). A narrative verdict is where, 
instead of a conventional verdict, at the end of the inquest the coroner 
records a factual record of how and in what circumstances the death 
occurred. Recent case law may be responsible for the increased number of 
narrative verdicts in recent years, including the House of Lords Middleton2 
judgement which encouraged their use. 
The number of open verdicts returned in 2008 fell slightly, from 2,240 to 
2,170, a drop of 3 per cent. 
  
Trends (Table 5 and Figure 4) 
Verdicts of death from natural causes are tending to rise. There is a long-
term downward trend in the numbers of verdicts of suicide, though there are 
fluctuations within that trend, including a rise in the number of such verdicts 
 
1 The number of verdicts delivered in any year is not the same as the number of inquests opened. 
The ‘number of inquests opened’ referred to in this bulletin will include inquests which were still in 
progress at the year’s end, whereas the verdicts discussed in this paragraph necessarily pertain to 
those inquests which have been completed. Some of these inquests may have begun in a previous 
year. 
2 R v H.M. Coroner for Western Somersetshire and another ex parte Middleton (2004) 

 
in 2008 compared to 2007. The number of open verdicts has fallen in the 
last few years. 
As a proportion of verdicts delivered by coroners during a calendar year, 
there are five main trends, two rising and three falling. 
• Verdicts of deaths by accident or misadventure have been declining, 
from 47 per cent of verdicts returned in 1994 to 32 per cent in 2008. 
• Suicide verdicts have been declining slowly over the same period, from 
18 per cent in 1994 to around 11 per cent last year. 
• Open verdicts have been falling in percentage terms in the last few 
years. 
• Verdicts of natural causes have risen from 12 per cent in 1994 to around 
26 per cent in 2008. 
• Non-specific verdicts (which include narrative verdicts, as explained 
above) formed fewer than one per cent of the total until 2001, but 
accounted for over 11 per cent in 2008. 
Figure 4: Verdicts returned at inquests, England and Wales, 1995-2008 
 Number of verdicts
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Other verdicts*
Deaths from natural
causes
Deaths from
industrial diseases
Suicide
Deaths by accident
or misadventure
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*Includes open verdicts, and non-specific verdicts, etc. (see Table 6) 
 
7 

 
Gender differences (Table 4, Figures 5 and 6) 
The pattern of verdicts differs between males and females. Male deaths 
accounted for about 68 per cent of all verdicts returned in 2008; but they 
also included 92 per cent of verdicts of death from industrial disease, 77 per 
cent of verdicts of suicide, and 83 per cent of verdicts of death from 
dependence on, or non-dependent abuse of, drugs. For females, the most 
common verdict was death by accident or misadventure (37 per cent of all 
female verdicts) followed by death from natural causes (30 per cent). These 
proportions were all similar to those in recent years. 
 
Figure 5: Verdicts returned at inquests by sex, England and Wales, 
2008 
8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 5: Verdicts ret
urned at inq
uests by sex
, E
ngland and W
al
es, 2008 - ma
le
s
Figure 5: Verdicts retu
rned at inqu
ests by sex,
 En
gland an
d Wale
s, 
2008 - fema
les
Figure 6: Number of verdicts returned at inquests, by sex, England and 
Wales, 2008 
 
Number of verdicts
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Accident or
misadventure
Suicide
Industrial
disease
Natural
causes
Drug-related
Open verdicts
All other
Males
Females
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
9 
Age of decreased in inquests where a verdict was returned (Table 5) 
For the first time in 2008, coroners were asked to provide information (in 
summary form) on the ages of persons whose deaths proceeded to inquest 
and a verdict was returned during the year. Over 40 per cent of completed 
inquests in 2008 were in relation to persons who were 65 years of age or 
more at death. Just under 10 per cent of inquests concluded were into the 
death of persons aged under 25. The age of the deceased was either not 
known or could not be readily provided in about 3 per cent of cases. 
 
Inquests with juries, and adjourned inquests (Table 7) 
Nearly all inquests concluded in 2008, as in other years, were held without 
juries. The number of inquests held with juries in 2008 was 490 
(representing under 2 per cent of all inquests), a modest fall of about 50 
compared to 2007. Both the number and proportion of inquests held with 
juries have been on a downward trend recent years; by comparison, 4.7 per 
cent of inquests concluded in 1998 had a jury. 
Around 830 inquests were adjourned by the coroner under Section 16 of the 
Coroners Act 1988 because criminal proceedings were pending and not 
resumed. This is comparable with the level generally prevailing in recent 
years. 
 
Treasure and Treasure Trove (Table 8 and Figure 7) 
On 24 September 1997, the Treasure Act 1996 came into force and 
replaced the common law of Treasure Trove in England and Wales. The 
1996 Act introduced new requirements for reporting and dealing with finds. 
Not all finds need be the subject of an inquest. In 2008, 610 finds were 
reported and 286 inquests were concluded, from which a verdict declaring a 
find to be Treasure was returned in 270 cases. There were also 9 inquests 
held into Treasure Trove in 2008, relating to finds made before the current 
Act came into force. It is likely that a few such inquests will continue to be 
held for some time. 
The number of finds reported has been steadily increasing in recent years; 
this is probably because of the increasing popularity of treasure-hunting as 
a hobby. The dip in reported finds in 2001 is almost certainly due to the foot-
and-mouth outbreak, which severely restricted access to land during the 
spring of that year. 
An annual report on the operation of the Treasure Act 1996 is published by 
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 
 

 
10 
Figure 7: Finds reported to coroners and inquests held under the 
Treasure Act, 1997-2008 
 Number of finds or inquests
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Number of finds reported
Number of inquests held

 
Map of coroner jurisdictions in England and Wales, shaded according to the total 
number of deaths reported to each coroner in 2008 (see overleaf for key to jurisdictions) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11 

 
12 
Map of coroner jurisdictions in England and Wales – key to 
jurisdictions 
0 – Avon 
1 – Bedfordshire and Luton 
2 – Berkshire 
3 – Birmingham and Solihull 
4 – Black Country 
5 – Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 
6 – Blackpool/Fylde 
7 – Boston and Spalding 
8 – Bournemouth, Poole and Eastern Dorset 
9 – Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys 
10 – Brighton and Hove 
11 – Buckinghamshire 
12 – Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan 
13 – Carmarthenshire 
14 – Central Hampshire 
15 – Central North Wales 
16 – Central and South East Kent 
17 – Ceredigion 
18 – Cheshire 
19 – City and County of Swansea 
[20 – City of London – not visible] 
21 – Cornwall 
22 – Coventry 
23 – Darlington and South Durham 
24 – Derby and South Derbyshire 
25 – East Lancashire 
26 – East London 
27 – East Riding and Hull 
28 – East Sussex 
29 – Eastern Somerset 
30 – Essex and Thurrock 
31 – Exeter and Greater Devon 
32 – Gateshead and South Tyneside 
33 – Gloucestershire 
34 – Great Yarmouth 
35 – Greater Norfolk 
36 – Gwent 
37 – Hartlepool 
38 – Herefordshire 
39 – Hertfordshire 
40 – Inner North London 
41 – Inner South London 
42 – Inner West London 
43 – Isle of Wight 
44 – Isles of Scilly 
45 – Leicester city and South Leicestershire 
46 – Liverpool 
47 – Manchester North 
48 – Manchester South 
49 – Manchester West 
50 – Manchester city 
51 – Mid Kent and Medway 
52 – Mid and North Shropshire 
53 – Milton Keynes 
54 – Neath and Port Talbot 
55 – Newcastle upon Tyne 
56 – North Derbyshire 
57 – North Durham 
58 – North East Hampshire 
59 – North East Kent 
60 – North East Wales 
61 – North Lincolnshire and Grimsby 
62 – North London 
63 – North Northumberland 
64 – North Tyneside 
65 – North West Kent 
66 – North West Wales 
67 – North Yorkshire Eastern District 
68 – North Yorkshire Western District 
69 – North and East Cambridgeshire 
70 – North and West Cumbria 
71 – Northamptonshire 
72 – Nottinghamshire 
73 – Oxfordshire 
74 – Pembrokeshire 
75 – Peterborough 
76 – Plymouth and South West Devon 
77 – Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 
78 – Powys 
79 – Preston and West Lancashire 
80 – Rutland and North Leicestershire 
81 – Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens 
82 – South London 
83 – South Northumberland 
84 – South Shropshire 
85 – South Yorkshire Eastern District 
86 – South Yorkshire Western District 
87 – South and East Cumbria 
88 – South and West Cambridgeshire 
89 – Southampton and New Forest 
90 – Southend-on-Sea 
91 – Spilsby and Louth 
92 – Staffordshire South 
93 – Stamford 
94 – Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire 
95 – Suffolk 
96 – Sunderland 
97 – Surrey 
98 – Teesside 
99 – Telford and Wrekin 
100 – Torbay and South Devon 
101 – Warwickshire 
102 – West Lincolnshire 
103 – West London 
104 – West Sussex 
105 – West Yorkshire Eastern District 
106 – West Yorkshire Western District 
107 – Western Dorset 
108 – Western Somerset 
109 – Wiltshire and Swindon 
110 – Wirral 
111 – Wolverhampton 
112 – Worcestershire 
113 – York city 

 
13 
Tables 
Table 1.  
Deaths reported to coroners, 2008 
Table 2. 
Registered deaths, deaths reported to coroners, and inquests 
opened, 1950-2008 
Table 3. 
Deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations held 
and inquests opened, 1994-2008 
Table 4. 
Inquest verdicts returned, 2008 
Table 5. 
Age of deceased in inquests where a verdict was returned, 
2008 
Table 6. 
Inquest verdicts returned, 1994-2008 
Table 7. 
Inquests concluded which were held with juries and inquests 
adjourned; High Court orders and exhumations, 1994-2008 
Table 8. 
Treasure inquests, 1994-2008 
Table 9. 
Reported deaths, post-mortems and inquests by jurisdiction, 
2008, and comparison with 2007 
Table 10. 
Inquest verdicts returned, by jurisdiction, 2008 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 Table 1: Deaths reported to coroners, 2008
England and Wales
 
Number of reported deaths
Males
Females
Total
 
 Total deaths reported to coroners, 2008 (1)(2)
124,269
110,088
234,784
Inquests
Deaths reported where an inquest was opened
20,963
10,036
30,999
Deaths reported where no inquest occurred (1)(2)
103,306
100,052
203,785
Post-mortem examinations
Deaths reported where a post-mortem took place
64,299
44,061
108,360
Deaths reported without a post-mortem (1)(2)
59,970
66,027
126,424
(1) This row includes deaths referred to the coroner where no certificate of any kind was issued ("no further action" cases).
(2) The total column includes "no further action" cases which could not be categorized into males and females.
Table 2: Registered deaths, deaths reported to coroners, and inquests opened, 1950-2008
England and Wales
Thousands and percentages
Year
Registered 
deaths 
(thousands)
Deaths reported to coroners
Inquests opened
As a percentage 
Number 
of registered 
(thousands) (1)
deaths
As a percentage of 
Number deaths reported to 
(thousands)
coroners (1)
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
510.3
526.3
575.2
581.4
564.8
551.8
565.9
563.0
558.1
553.4
553.5
537.9
532.5
535.4
539.2
514.3
513.0
502.6
504.1
502.6 (2)
83.6
101.1
133.4
170.2
180.1
185.0
208.5
212.6
208.6
211.4
220.2
218.1
224.3
225.0
227.8
225.5
232.4
230.0
234.5
234.8
16.4%
19.2%
23.2%
29.3%
31.9%
33.5%
36.8%
37.8%
37.4%
38.2%
39.8%
40.5%
42.1%
42.0%
42.2%
43.9%
45.3%
45.8%
46.5%
46.7%
25.8
26.3
24.9
23.1
22.1
20.8
22.7
22.3
22.7
23.6
24.4
24.9
25.8
26.4
27.1
28.3
29.3
29.3
30.8
31.0
30.9%
26.0%
18.7%
13.6%
12.3%
11.3%
10.9%
10.5%
10.9%
11.1%
11.1%
11.4%
11.5%
11.7%
11.9%
12.5%
12.6%
12.8%
13.2%
13.2%
(1) 'NFA' cases are deaths notified to coroners which required neither an inquest nor a post-mortem, and where no 
certificate of any kind was issued.  From 1995 onwards all 'NFA' cases have been included in the number of reported 
deaths.  Prior to that, these cases were excluded. Figures for 1995 onwards are therefore not directly comparable to those 
for previous years.
(2) Statistics on the number of registered deaths in England and Wales are published by the Office for National Statistics. 
However, the total number of registered deaths in 2008 is not yet available and has been estimated for the purposes of this 
table; see Explanatory Notes for more information.
14 

 
15 
 Table 3: Deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations held and inquests opened, 1994-2008
England and Wales
Numbers and percentages
 
Inquest opened
No inquest opened
Post-mortems
 
Post-mortem 
No post-mortem 
Post-mortem 
No post-mortem 
Total 
examination held
held
% of 
examination held
held
Total non-
% of 
deaths 
 Year
Total 
Total post-
deaths 
inquest 
deaths 
reported 
inquests 
mortems 
reported 
cases, inc. 
reported 
inc. NFA
% of 
% of 
opened
% of non-
% of non-
 
held
(1)
Number, 
NFA
(1)
Number
inquest 
Number
inquest 
Number
inquest 
inquest 
inc. NFA
cases
cases
cases (1)
cases (1)
1994
20,474
98.3%
362
1.7%
20,836
n/a
104,702
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
125,176
n/a
n/a
1995
22,247
98.1%
423
1.9%
22,670
10.9%
104,151
56.0%
81,701
44.0%
185,852
126,398
60.6%
208,522
1996
21,863
98.0%
455
2.0%
22,318
10.5%
104,321
54.8%
85,945
45.2%
190,266
126,184
59.4%
212,584
1997
22,336
98.4%
367
1.6%
22,703
10.9%
100,679
54.2%
85,196
45.8%
185,875
123,015
59.0%
208,578
1998
23,191
98.4%
377
1.6%
23,568
11.1%
101,165
53.8%
86,700
46.2%
187,865
124,356
58.8%
211,433
1999
23,896
98.0%
479
2.0%
24,375
11.1%
100,884
51.5%
94,917
48.5%
195,801
124,780
56.7%
220,176
2000
24,117
97.0%
740
3.0%
24,857
11.4%
100,419
52.0%
92,816
48.0%
193,235
124,536
57.1%
218,092
2001
24,617
95.4%
1,176
4.6%
25,793
11.5%
96,495
48.6%
101,998
51.4%
198,493
121,112
54.0%
224,286
2002
25,363
96.0%
1,067
4.0%
26,430
11.7%
92,321
46.5%
106,248
53.5%
198,569
117,684
52.3%
224,999
2003
25,754
95.0%
1,359
5.0%
27,113
11.9%
93,856
46.8%
106,821
53.2%
200,677
119,610
52.5%
227,790
2004
26,618
94.1%
1,656
5.9%
28,274
12.5%
89,155
45.2%
108,082
54.8%
197,237
115,773
51.3%
225,511
2005
27,537
94.1%
1,734
5.9%
29,271
12.6%
87,083
42.9%
116,047
57.1%
203,130
114,620
49.3%
232,401
2006
27,305
93.1%
2,022
6.9%
29,327
12.8%
82,919
41.3%
117,761
58.7%
200,680
110,224
47.9%
230,007
2007
28,510
92.4%
2,331
7.6%
30,841
13.2%
81,850
40.2%
121,767
59.8%
203,617
110,360
47.1%
234,458
2008
28,518
92.0%
2,481
8.0%
30,999
13.2%
79,842
39.2%
123,943
60.8%
203,785
108,360
46.2%
234,784
(1) Percentages shown are of deaths reported including "no further action" (NFA) cases.  NFA cases are deaths notified to coroners which required neither an inquest nor a post-mortem, and where no 
certificate of any kind was issued.  From 1995 onwards all 'NFA' cases have been included in the number of reported deaths.  Prior to that, these cases were excluded.  There are therefore no directly 
comparable figures for the total number of reported deaths including 'NFA' cases prior to 1995.

 
16 
 Table 4: Inquest verdicts returned, 2008
England and Wales
 
Number of verdicts returned
 Verdict
Males
Females
Total
 
Homicide, of which:
killed unlawfully
killed lawfully
Suicide
Attempted or self-induced abortion
Cause of death aggravated by lack of 
care, or self-neglect
Dependence on drugs
Non-dependent abuse of drugs
Want of attention at birth
Death from industrial diseases
Death by accident or misadventure
Stillborn
Deaths from natural causes
Open verdicts
Disasters
All other verdicts
Total verdicts returned, 2008
191
2
2,560
-
18
273
241
1
2,278
5,769
10
4,768
1,541
-
2,013
19,665
72
-
745
-
17
70
33
-
196
3,461
3
2,788
626
-
1,320
9,331
263
2
3,305
-
35
343
274
1
2,474
9,230
13
7,556
2,167
-
3,333
28,996
Table 5: Age of deceased in inquests where a verdict was returned, 2008
England and Wales
Number and percentage
Number of 
As a % of total 
Age of deceased at time of death
inquest verdicts 
verdicts 
returned, 2008
returned
Under 1 year
556
1.9%
1 to 14 years
410
1.4%
15 to 24 years
1,835
6.3%
25 to 44 years
6,340
21.9%
45 to 64 years
7,159
24.7%
65 years and over
11,693
40.3%
Age not known or could not be readily provided
1,003
3.5%
Total verdicts returned, 2008
28,996
100.0%

 
17 
 Table 6: Inquest verdicts returned, 1994-2008
England and Wales
Number of verdicts returned
 
Verdict
 
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Homicide, of which:
 
killed unlawfully
killed lawfully
 Suicide
Attempted or self-induced abortion
Cause of death aggravated by lack 
 
of care, or self-neglect
Dependence on drugs
Non-dependent abuse of drugs
Want of attention at birth
Death from industrial diseases
Death by accident or misadventure
Stillborn
Deaths from natural causes
Open verdicts
Disasters
All other verdicts
Total verdicts returned
162
4
3,537
-
58
124
131
6
1,839
9,347
1
2,388
2,221
-
162
19,980
217
6
3,579
-
35
139
162
9
1,878
9,142
8
2,483
2,257
-
136
20,051
169
1
3,399
-
59
156
199
5
1,784
9,286
6
2,498
2,151
-
142
19,855
165
2
3,355
-
59
177
220
4
1,836
9,646
6
2,756
2,319
-
154
20,699
142
3
3,756
-
47
258
237
5
2,091
9,199
12
2,852
2,571
-
160
21,333
167
2
3,693
-
44
289
284
1
2,373
9,558
4
3,306
2,509
-
119
22,349
178
4
3,626
-
33
323
282
4
2,591
9,796
4
3,642
2,449
-
156
23,088
192
2
3,389
-
43
309
313
6
2,661
9,882
8
4,068
2,519
-
225
23,617
177
6
3,242
-
46
294
260
1
2,653
9,379
3
4,334
2,445
-
583
23,423
182
1
3,255
-
50
248
254
4
2,403
9,594
10
4,766
2,619
-
873
24,259
206
5
3,368
-
51
280
269
3
2,571
9,420
11
5,296
2,600
2
1,412
25,494
248
4
3,235
1
27
299
261
2
2,567
9,498
10
6,175
2,531
4
1,952
26,814
223
2
3,220
-
30
328
268
3
2,496
9,353
12
6,828
2,378
-
2,406
27,547
257
2
3,007
-
35
324
276
-
2,332
8,930
21
7,011
2,242
-
2,923
27,360
263
2
3,305
-
35
343
274
1
2,474
9,230
13
7,556
2,167
-
3,333
28,996

 
18 
 Table 7: Inquests concluded which were held with juries and inquests adjourned; High Court orders and exhumations, 1994-2008
England and Wales
 
Number
 
Year
 
Juries
Verdicts / adjournments
Total inquests 
concluded
Inquests held 
by order of 
the High 
Court (1)
Inquisitions 
quashed or 
amended by 
the High 
Court
Exhumations 
ordered by 
the coroner
   Inquests 
without juries
Inquests with 
juries
% with juries
Inquests 
Verdicts adjourned and 
% adjourned
returned
not resumed
1994 (2)
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
19,935
20,093
19,844
20,774
21,141
22,298
23,243
23,757
23,859
24,531
25,869
27,302
27,934
27,747
29,344
878
857
903
774
1,035
823
824
759
687
636
568
520
569
539
485
4.2%
4.1%
4.4%
3.6%
4.7%
3.6%
3.4%
3.1%
2.8%
2.5%
2.1%
1.9%
2.0%
1.9%
1.6%
19,980
20,051
19,855
20,699
21,333
22,349
23,088
23,617
23,423
24,259
25,494
26,814
27,547
27,360
28,996
837
899
892
849
843
772
979
899
1,123
908
943
1,008
956
926
833
4.0%
4.3%
4.3%
3.9%
3.8%
3.3%
4.1%
3.7%
4.6%
3.6%
3.6%
3.6%
3.4%
3.3%
2.8%
20,817
20,950
20,747
21,548
22,176
23,121
24,067
24,516
24,546
25,167
26,437
27,822
28,503
28,286
29,829
-
50
7
3
2
-
1
3
2
1
1
3
2
1
-
6
2
1
2
0
2
1
2
1
4
1
1
2
1
2
4
4
3
1
5
2
7
5
3
1
2
3
2
4
1
(1) The 1995 figure for inquests held by order of the High Court includes 48 inquests arising from the Marchioness pleasure boat disaster.
(2) Includes 4 inquests in 1994 for which information about juries is not known.

 
19 
 Table 8: Treasure inquests, 1994-2008
 England and Wales
Number
 
Year
 
 
Treasure Act 1996
Treasure trove
 Number of 
  Number of 
inquests 
finds reported
concluded
 Verdicts of 
treasure 
returned
Inquests held on 
treasure trove
1994
 
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 (R)
2006 (R)
2007 (R)
2008
..
..
..
54
147
170
213
168
279
396
412
432
444
595
610
..
..
..
25
53
90
236
63
144
154
269
253
252
273
286
..
..
..
6
42
86
123
65
133
140
191
228
217
229
270
59
66
45
35
20
8
4
5
3
6
16
7
12
13
9
(R) The figures for treasure finds reported to coroners in 2005-2007 have been revised; see 
Explanatory Notes for more information.

 
 Table 9: Reported deaths, post-mortems and inquests by jurisdiction 2008, and comparison with 2007
 
2008 cases
2007 cases
% change, 2007 to 2008
County 
 
/ unitary authority or district
Reported 
deaths 
2008, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2008
2008
Inquests 
2008
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2008
Reported 
deaths 
2007, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2007
2007
Inquests 
2007
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2007
% change 
change in 
in reported change in 
% 
deaths, 
% PMs
inquests
inc. NFA
The Queen's Household
0
0
n/a
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
0
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
ENGLAND
NORTH EAST
DURHAM
Darlington and South Durham
1,087
657
60%
140
13%
1,057
677
64%
160
15%
2.8%
-3.6%
-2.3%
North Durham
1,222
772
63%
223
18%
1,190
848
71%
298
25%
2.7%
-8.1%
-6.8%
HARTLEPOOL
472
176
37%
50
11%
590
284
48%
58
10%
-20.0%
-10.8%
0.8%
NORTHUMBERLAND
North Northumberland
738
371
50%
106
14%
723
411
57%
112
15%
2.1%
-6.6%
-1.1%
South Northumberland
489
335
69%
94
19%
467
363
78%
127
27%
4.7%
-9.2%
-8.0%
TEESSIDE
2,731
1,065
39%
349
13%
2,559
1,101
43%
313
12%
6.7%
-4.0%
0.5%
TYNE AND WEAR
Gateshead and South Tyneside
1,981
846
43%
244
12%
1,952
800
41%
193
10%
1.5%
1.7%
2.4%
Newcastle upon Tyne
1,922
776
40%
294
15%
1,970
861
44%
348
18%
-2.4%
-3.3%
-2.4%
North Tyneside
864
533
62%
221
26%
795
558
70%
221
28%
8.7%
-8.5%
-2.2%
Sunderland
1,685
599
36%
339
20%
1,660
601
36%
339
20%
1.5%
-0.7%
-0.3%
NORTH WEST
CHESHIRE
4,714
2,416
51%
775
16%
4,679
2,443
52%
704
15%
0.7%
-1.0%
1.4%
CUMBRIA
South and East Cumbria
1,100
670
61%
176
16%
1,056
653
62%
149
14%
4.2%
-0.9%
1.9%
North and West Cumbria
1,311
634
48%
141
11%
1,060
577
54%
194
18%
23.7%
-6.1%
-7.5%
GREATER MANCHESTER
Manchester city
2,972
1,744
59%
743
25%
3,049
1,704
56%
643
21%
-2.5%
2.8%
3.9%
Manchester North
2,584
993
38%
393
15%
2,578
909
35%
346
13%
0.2%
3.2%
1.8%
Manchester South
3,215
1,954
61%
612
19%
3,217
1,769
55%
520
16%
-0.1%
5.8%
2.9%
Manchester West
4,094
2,038
50%
658
16%
4,088
1,846
45%
601
15%
0.1%
4.6%
1.4%
LANCASHIRE
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley
2,508
812
32%
297
12%
1,897
724
38%
247
13%
32.2%
-5.8%
-1.2%
Blackpool/Fylde
1,720
807
47%
127
7%
1,782
911
51%
138
8%
-3.5%
-4.2%
-0.4%
East Lancashire
664
432
65%
147
22%
908
512
56%
150
17%
-26.9%
8.7%
5.6%
Preston and West Lancashire
2,979
1,661
56%
446
15%
2,915
1,880
64%
496
17%
2.2%
-8.7%
-2.0%
MERSEYSIDE
Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens
2,620
898
34%
270
10%
2,703
941
35%
242
9%
-3.1%
-0.5%
1.4%
Liverpool
2,912
908
31%
509
17%
2,858
984
34%
513
18%
1.9%
-3.2%
-0.5%
Wirral
1,621
639
39%
267
16%
1,788
714
40%
286
16%
-9.3%
-0.5%
0.5%
20 

 
 Table 9: Reported deaths, post-mortems and inquests by jurisdiction 2008, and comparison with 2007 (continued)
 
County / 
 
 
unitary authority or district
2008 cases
2007 cases
% change, 2007 to 2008
Reported 
deaths 
2008, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2008
2008
Inquests 
2008
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2008
Reported 
deaths 
2007, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2007
2007
Inquests 
2007
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2007
% change 
change in 
in reported change in 
% 
deaths, 
% PMs
inquests
inc. NFA
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER
EAST RIDING and HULL
3,013
1,112
37%
293
10%
3,021
1,057
35%
245
8%
-0.3%
1.9%
1.6%
NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE and GRIMSBY
1,368
438
32%
127
9%
1,402
432
31%
137
10%
-2.4%
1.2%
-0.5%
YORK CITY
1,084
442
41%
105
10%
1,008
448
44%
90
9%
7.5%
-3.7%
0.8%
North Yorkshire Eastern District
1,196
654
55%
125
10%
1,175
660
56%
150
13%
1.8%
-1.5%
-2.3%
North Yorkshire Western District
1,051
400
38%
126
12%
1,096
463
42%
120
11%
-4.1%
-4.2%
1.0%
South Yorkshire Eastern District
2,751
1,603
58%
366
13%
2,722
1,652
61%
334
12%
1.1%
-2.4%
1.0%
South Yorkshire Western District
3,244
1,504
46%
479
15%
3,625
1,547
43%
437
12%
-10.5%
3.7%
2.7%
West Yorkshire Eastern District
3,778
1,809
48%
585
15%
3,724
1,904
51%
539
14%
1.5%
-3.2%
1.0%
West Yorkshire Western District
3,609
1,779
49%
505
14%
3,553
1,804
51%
485
14%
1.6%
-1.5%
0.3%
EAST MIDLANDS
DERBYSHIRE
Derby and South Derbyshire
2,709
1,211
45%
295
11%
2,713
1,145
42%
284
10%
-0.1%
2.5%
0.4%
North Derbyshire
2,099
652
31%
308
15%
2,032
619
30%
307
15%
3.3%
0.6%
-0.4%
LEICESTERSHIRE
Leicester City and South Leicestershire
3,426
1,257
37%
668
19%
3,345
1,271
38%
663
20%
2.4%
-1.3%
-0.3%
Rutland and North Leicestershire
874
486
56%
170
19%
831
511
61%
186
22%
5.2%
-5.9%
-2.9%
LINCOLNSHIRE
Boston and Spalding
1,012
400
40%
59
6%
991
413
42%
76
8%
2.1%
-2.1%
-1.8%
West Lincolnshire
1,652
546
33%
128
8%
1,618
485
30%
125
8%
2.1%
3.1%
0.0%
Spilsby and Louth
539
291
54%
56
10%
520
289
56%
64
12%
3.7%
-1.6%
-1.9%
Stamford
142
53
37%
12
8%
182
94
52%
26
14%
-22.0%
-14.3%
-5.8%
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
2,579
1,085
42%
299
12%
2,525
1,211
48%
278
11%
2.1%
-5.9%
0.6%
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
6,009
1,575
26%
429
7%
5,976
1,619
27%
454
8%
0.6%
-0.9%
-0.5%
WEST MIDLANDS
HEREFORDSHIRE
869
370
43%
84
10%
890
389
44%
97
11%
-2.4%
-1.1%
-1.2%
SHROPSHIRE
Mid and North Shropshire
923
474
51%
110
12%
902
482
53%
107
12%
2.3%
-2.1%
0.1%
South Shropshire
287
169
59%
43
15%
207
140
68%
27
13%
38.6%
-8.7%
1.9%
STAFFORDSHIRE
Staffordshire South
2,514
921
37%
354
14%
2,612
914
35%
382
15%
-3.8%
1.6%
-0.5%
Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire
3,702
1,444
39%
480
13%
3,805
1,647
43%
495
13%
-2.7%
-4.3%
0.0%
TELFORD and WREKIN
761
394
52%
80
11%
750
409
55%
73
10%
1.5%
-2.8%
0.8%
WARWICKSHIRE
1,935
847
44%
241
12%
1,896
846
45%
213
11%
2.1%
-0.8%
1.2%
WEST MIDLANDS
Birmingham and Solihull
4,370
1,747
40%
1,122
26%
4,437
1,775
40%
1,082
24%
-1.5%
0.0%
1.3%
Black Country
3,866
1,227
32%
344
9%
3,351
1,216
36%
361
11%
15.4%
-4.5%
-1.9%
Coventry
1,988
541
27%
211
11%
1,806
497
28%
172
10%
10.1%
-0.3%
1.1%
Wolverhampton
1,273
551
43%
191
15%
1,198
464
39%
169
14%
6.3%
4.6%
0.9%
WORCESTERSHIRE
2,468
1,027
42%
301
12%
2,286
917
40%
264
12%
8.0%
1.5%
0.6%
21 

 
 Table 9: Reported deaths, post-mortems and inquests by jurisdiction 2008, and comparison with 2007 (continued)
 
County 
 
 
/ unitary authority or district
2008 cases
2007 cases
% change, 2007 to 2008
Reported 
deaths 
2008, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2008
2008
Inquests 
2008
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2008
Reported 
deaths 
2007, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2007
2007
Inquests 
2007
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2007
% change 
change in 
in reported change in 
% 
deaths, 
% PMs
inquests
inc. NFA
EAST OF ENGLAND
BEDFORDSHIRE AND LUTON
 
2,066
810
39%
240
12%
2,017
740
37%
199
10%
2.4%
2.5%
1.8%
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
North and East Cambridgeshire
387
235
61%
67
17%
403
278
69%
72
18%
-4.0%
-8.3%
-0.6%
South and West Cambridgeshire
1,891
689
36%
192
10%
1,897
797
42%
209
11%
-0.3%
-5.6%
-0.9%
ESSEX and THURROCK
4,698
2,470
53%
509
11%
4,712
2,578
55%
524
11%
-0.3%
-2.1%
-0.3%
HERTFORDSHIRE
3,268
1,819
56%
413
13%
3,326
1,683
51%
430
13%
-1.7%
5.1%
-0.3%
NORFOLK
Great Yarmouth
723
276
38%
50
7%
715
325
45%
59
8%
1.1%
-7.3%
-1.3%
Greater Norfolk
3,141
1,634
52%
413
13%
2,838
1,671
59%
437
15%
10.7%
-6.9%
-2.2%
PETERBOROUGH
1,025
377
37%
107
10%
976
401
41%
122
13%
5.0%
-4.3%
-2.1%
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA
1,579
664
42%
139
9%
1,587
672
42%
117
7%
-0.5%
-0.3%
1.4%
SUFFOLK
2,796
1,389
50%
262
9%
2,639
1,391
53%
300
11%
5.9%
-3.0%
-2.0%
LONDON
City of London
126
40
32%
17
13%
127
52
41%
22
17%
-0.8%
-9.2%
-3.8%
East London
3,940
1,822
46%
376
10%
4,092
1,870
46%
398
10%
-3.7%
0.5%
-0.2%
Inner North London
3,061
1,362
44%
460
15%
3,228
1,354
42%
480
15%
-5.2%
2.5%
0.2%
Inner South London
3,524
2,134
61%
576
16%
3,685
2,264
61%
572
16%
-4.4%
-0.9%
0.8%
Inner West London
2,723
1,307
48%
426
16%
2,684
1,262
47%
452
17%
1.5%
1.0%
-1.2%
North London
3,822
1,944
51%
512
13%
4,877
1,725
35%
478
10%
-21.6%
15.5%
3.6%
South London
3,285
1,747
53%
296
9%
3,804
1,819
48%
318
8%
-13.6%
5.4%
0.7%
West London
3,858
1,655
43%
453
12%
4,214
2,099
50%
760
18%
-8.4%
-6.9%
-6.3%
SOUTH EAST
BERKSHIRE
2,690
1,245
46%
309
11%
2,557
1,243
49%
329
13%
5.2%
-2.3%
-1.4%
BRIGHTON AND HOVE
1,416
710
50%
237
17%
1,445
707
49%
200
14%
-2.0%
1.2%
2.9%
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
1,365
688
50%
170
12%
1,350
739
55%
163
12%
1.1%
-4.3%
0.4%
EAST SUSSEX
2,410
1,385
57%
326
14%
2,321
1,397
60%
280
12%
3.8%
-2.7%
1.5%
HAMPSHIRE
Central Hampshire
1,137
560
49%
180
16%
1,295
600
46%
216
17%
-12.2%
2.9%
-0.8%
North East Hampshire
1,103
633
57%
120
11%
1,114
606
54%
117
11%
-1.0%
3.0%
0.4%
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire
2,682
1,255
47%
309
12%
2,557
1,334
52%
333
13%
4.9%
-5.4%
-1.5%
Southampton and New Forest
2,279
854
37%
218
10%
2,095
856
41%
194
9%
8.8%
-3.4%
0.3%
ISLE OF WIGHT
743
431
58%
89
12%
673
409
61%
73
11%
10.4%
-2.8%
1.1%
KENT
Central and South East Kent
1,430
987
69%
164
11%
1,458
1,031
71%
167
11%
-1.9%
-1.7%
0.0%
Mid Kent and Medway
2,465
1,389
56%
246
10%
2,491
1,385
56%
213
9%
-1.0%
0.7%
1.4%
North East Kent
1,898
1,176
62%
196
10%
1,984
1,340
68%
242
12%
-4.3%
-5.6%
-1.9%
North West Kent
1,638
926
57%
188
11%
1,783
981
55%
204
11%
-8.1%
1.5%
0.0%
MILTON KEYNES
735
501
68%
104
14%
709
507
72%
126
18%
3.7%
-3.3%
-3.6%
22 

 
 Table 9: Reported deaths, post-mortems and inquests by jurisdiction 2008, and comparison with 2007 (continued)
 
County 
 
 
/ unitary authority or district
2008 cases
2007 cases
% change, 2007 to 2008
Reported 
deaths 
2008, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2008
2008
Inquests 
2008
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2008
Reported 
deaths 
2007, inc. 
NFA
PMs as % 
Post-
of rep. 
mortems 
deaths 
2007
2007
Inquests 
2007
Inquests 
as % of 
rep. 
deaths 
2007
% change 
change in 
in reported change in 
% 
deaths, 
% PMs
inquests
inc. NFA
OXFORDSHIRE
2,080
848
41%
274
13%
1,966
898
46%
307
16%
5.8%
-4.9%
-2.4%
SURREY
 
4,290
2,009
47%
388
9%
4,441
2,075
47%
367
8%
-3.4%
0.1%
0.8%
WEST SUSSEX
3,137
1,669
53%
355
11%
3,164
1,775
56%
382
12%
-0.9%
-2.9%
-0.8%
SOUTH WEST
AVON
4,966
2,388
48%
702
14%
4,988
2,424
49%
645
13%
-0.4%
-0.5%
1.2%
CORNWALL
DEVON
2,689
1,659
62%
341
13%
2,657
1,741
66%
363
14%
1.2%
-3.8%
-1.0%
Exeter and Greater Devon
2,970
1,199
40%
385
13%
2,989
1,251
42%
384
13%
-0.6%
-1.5%
0.1%
Plymouth and South West Devon
2,210
1,142
52%
387
18%
2,182
1,060
49%
261
12%
1.3%
3.1%
5.5%
Torbay and South Devon
DORSET
2,047
795
39%
159
8%
1,718
722
42%
150
9%
19.2%
-3.2%
-1.0%
Bournemouth, Poole and Eastern Dorset
2,368
840
35%
179
8%
2,319
876
38%
184
8%
2.1%
-2.3%
-0.4%
Western Dorset
1,052
462
44%
98
9%
1,037
441
43%
65
6%
1.4%
1.4%
3.0%
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
2,124
1,284
60%
429
20%
2,076
1,314
63%
401
19%
2.3%
-2.8%
0.9%
ISLES OF SCILLY (1)
SOMERSET
2
2
*
0
*
8
6
*
3
*
*
*
*
Eastern Somerset
1,046
582
56%
154
15%
1,075
641
60%
136
13%
-2.7%
-4.0%
2.1%
Western Somerset
1,330
543
41%
157
12%
1,368
529
39%
145
11%
-2.8%
2.2%
1.2%
WILTSHIRE and SWINDON
2,240
1,119
50%
348
16%
2,287
1,163
51%
383
17%
-2.1%
-0.9%
-1.2%
WALES
Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys
2,920
1,320
45%
237
8%
2,715
1,155
43%
275
10%
7.6%
2.7%
-2.0%
Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
1,671
860
51%
409
24%
1,716
958
56%
448
26%
-2.6%
-4.4%
-1.6%
Carmarthenshire
822
374
45%
99
12%
789
348
44%
84
11%
4.2%
1.4%
1.4%
Central North Wales
1,476
818
55%
250
17%
1,678
922
55%
275
16%
-12.0%
0.5%
0.5%
Ceredigion
282
191
68%
41
15%
260
199
77%
35
13%
8.5%
-8.8%
1.1%
Gwent
2,610
925
35%
152
6%
2,456
909
37%
142
6%
6.3%
-1.6%
0.0%
Neath and Port Talbot
480
250
52%
48
10%
516
276
53%
91
18%
-7.0%
-1.4%
-7.6%
North East Wales
1,143
646
57%
230
20%
1,105
640
58%
225
20%
3.4%
-1.4%
-0.2%
North West Wales
1,121
517
46%
163
15%
1,078
526
49%
151
14%
4.0%
-2.7%
0.5%
Pembrokeshire
641
240
37%
78
12%
615
218
35%
79
13%
4.2%
2.0%
-0.7%
Powys
301
207
69%
63
21%
337
210
62%
65
19%
-10.7%
6.5%
1.6%
City and County of Swansea
1,566
612
39%
192
12%
1,525
576
38%
149
10%
2.7%
1.3%
2.5%
ENGLAND and WALES
234,784
108,360
46%
30,999
13%
234,458
110,360
47%
30,841
13%
0.1%
-0.9%
0.0%
NOTE:  NFA cases are deaths notified to coroners which required neither an inquest nor a post-mortem, and where no certificate of any kind was issued.
(1) Percentages not shown because of the low volume of caseload.
23 

 
24 
 Table 10: Inquest verdicts returned, by jurisdiction, 2008
 
County / 
 
 
unitary authority or district
Verdict category
Total, all 
verdicts
Homicide, 
killed 
unlawfully 
and killed 
lawfully
Suicide
Lack of care 
or self-
neglect
Dependence 
on drugs
Non-
Death from 
dependent 
industrial 
abuse of 
diseases
drugs
Death by 
accident or 
mis-
adventure
Deaths from 
natural 
causes
Open 
verdicts
All other 
verdicts (1)
The Queen's Household (2)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
ENGLAND
NORTH EAST
DURHAM
Darlington and South Durham
2
23
0
1
5
17
43
65
14
13
183
North Durham
2
23
0
3
4
55
52
92
14
11
256
HARTLEPOOL
0
2
0
0
1
16
15
8
4
2
48
NORTHUMBERLAND
North Northumberland
0
6
0
3
1
17
20
36
1
5
89
South Northumberland
1
11
0
0
1
11
44
36
14
3
121
TEESSIDE
2
24
0
1
0
31
117
47
20
1
243
TYNE AND WEAR
Gateshead and South Tyneside
0
11
0
0
4
36
82
67
14
11
225
Newcastle upon Tyne
1
22
0
13
1
44
74
122
9
65
351
North Tyneside
2
19
0
0
0
31
71
75
20
14
232
Sunderland
1
12
1
0
2
45
25
128
5
8
227
NORTH WEST
CHESHIRE
6
65
0
7
2
79
184
286
21
63
713
CUMBRIA
South and East Cumbria
0
12
0
0
0
14
54
35
9
39
163
North and West Cumbria
6
19
0
1
0
6
53
31
13
1
130
GREATER MANCHESTER
Manchester city
6
43
0
1
12
30
299
274
32
120
817
Manchester North
1
22
0
2
3
15
74
113
17
39
286
Manchester South
2
41
0
0
0
35
242
205
50
7
582
Manchester West
1
46
0
9
5
53
216
106
56
108
600
LANCASHIRE
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley
1
19
1
1
0
11
64
121
7
60
285
Blackpool/Fylde
2
28
0
12
1
10
35
16
8
1
113
East Lancashire
1
20
0
0
0
5
62
42
12
9
151
Preston and West Lancashire
5
61
0
0
0
20
121
112
18
115
452
MERSEYSIDE
Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens
0
37
1
6
4
11
94
83
5
6
247
Liverpool
8
24
1
13
5
41
128
185
4
105
514
Wirral
0
17
1
0
0
32
63
121
23
16
273

 
 Table 10: Inquest verdicts returned, by jurisdiction, 2008 (continued)
 
County / 
 
 
unitary authority or district
Verdict category
Total, all 
verdicts
Homicide, 
killed 
unlawfully 
and killed 
lawfully
Suicide
Lack of care 
or self-
neglect
Dependence 
on drugs
Non-
Death from 
dependent 
industrial 
abuse of 
diseases
drugs
Death by 
accident or 
mis-
adventure
Deaths from 
natural 
causes
Open 
verdicts
All other 
verdicts (1)
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER
EAST RIDING and HULL
1
26
0
0
0
17
82
28
42
52
248
NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE and GRIMSBY
0
23
0
2
1
14
37
17
9
45
148
YORK CITY
0
21
0
4
1
11
32
27
6
2
104
North Yorkshire Eastern District
2
21
0
0
0
11
62
14
3
9
122
North Yorkshire Western District
1
32
0
1
2
2
50
18
17
12
135
South Yorkshire Eastern District
0
44
0
6
6
81
91
76
9
33
346
South Yorkshire Western District
2
46
0
0
0
71
93
92
7
73
384
West Yorkshire Eastern District
4
74
0
14
8
98
165
119
32
41
555
West Yorkshire Western District
6
83
0
9
17
35
182
108
29
21
490
EAST MIDLANDS
DERBYSHIRE
Derby and South Derbyshire
3
29
0
3
1
30
97
42
19
31
255
North Derbyshire
0
5
0
0
0
70
24
104
10
76
289
LEICESTERSHIRE
Leicester City and South Leicestershire
0
31
0
0
0
26
305
195
39
17
613
Rutland and North Leicestershire
1
52
0
0
0
15
96
53
6
0
223
LINCOLNSHIRE
Boston and Spalding
1
9
0
0
2
3
24
8
0
7
54
West Lincolnshire
0
26
0
4
6
8
40
17
7
6
114
Spilsby and Louth
2
3
0
3
5
3
26
5
17
0
64
Stamford
0
3
0
0
0
0
3
5
3
0
14
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
6
41
0
0
0
21
94
46
20
10
238
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
3
73
0
0
0
57
186
66
42
14
441
WEST MIDLANDS
HEREFORDSHIRE
0
18
0
0
0
3
49
18
2
3
93
SHROPSHIRE
Mid and North Shropshire
0
12
0
0
0
18
48
12
2
17
109
South Shropshire
1
9
1
0
0
0
15
3
3
6
38
STAFFORDSHIRE
Staffordshire South
3
51
0
2
3
43
183
66
14
11
376
Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire
2
29
0
10
3
51
127
56
17
120
415
TELFORD and WREKIN
0
8
0
0
1
4
16
10
6
24
69
WARWICKSHIRE
3
38
0
2
7
13
110
54
17
5
249
WEST MIDLANDS
Birmingham and Solihull
1
19
1
0
0
31
199
194
32
519
996
Black Country
5
49
0
16
1
17
78
107
25
30
328
Coventry
3
17
0
8
4
7
56
63
20
2
180
Wolverhampton
1
11
0
0
0
7
19
41
18
19
116
WORCESTERSHIRE
0
40
0
1
6
9
81
122
18
29
306
25 

 
26 
 Table 10: Inquest verdicts returned, by jurisdiction, 2008 (continued)
 
County 
 
 
/ unitary authority or district
Verdict category
Total, all 
verdicts
Homicide, 
killed 
unlawfully 
and killed 
lawfully
Suicide
Lack of care 
or self-
neglect
Dependence 
on drugs
Non-
Death from 
dependent 
industrial 
abuse of 
diseases
drugs
Death by 
accident or 
mis-
adventure
Deaths from 
natural 
causes
Open 
verdicts
All other 
verdicts (1)
EAST OF ENGLAND
BEDFORDSHIRE and LUTON
5
44
0
5
4
26
68
49
1
7
209
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
North and East Cambridgeshire
1
14
1
1
1
2
27
16
1
5
69
South and West Cambridgeshire
0
28
1
2
1
19
56
49
4
16
176
ESSEX and THURROCK
2
59
0
0
0
57
149
87
59
3
416
HERTFORDSHIRE
1
63
0
0
0
19
147
146
16
29
421
NORFOLK
Great Yarmouth
2
6
0
0
0
4
18
15
1
0
46
Greater Norfolk
7
66
1
0
0
41
138
127
7
68
455
PETERBOROUGH
0
11
0
0
0
6
47
28
12
1
105
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA
1
9
0
0
0
3
29
11
18
11
82
SUFFOLK
1
51
0
0
0
20
71
46
42
56
287
LONDON
City of London
0
4
0
0
0
2
4
1
3
3
17
East London
6
46
2
0
1
43
137
59
51
26
371
Inner North London
12
60
1
18
21
19
106
140
103
44
524
Inner South London
4
41
1
20
20
31
111
129
87
52
496
Inner West London (2)
2
40
1
3
10
4
140
93
36
48
377
North London
16
16
0
1
4
13
97
100
66
91
404
South London
5
31
0
2
4
37
89
61
59
10
298
West London
4
56
0
9
11
16
106
111
61
63
437
SOUTH EAST
BERKSHIRE
0
53
0
0
0
27
109
44
48
52
333
BRIGHTON and HOVE
0
27
3
2
23
9
98
25
23
16
226
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
0
26
0
0
0
8
55
23
20
3
135
EAST SUSSEX
2
48
0
13
1
26
92
59
28
8
277
HAMPSHIRE
Central Hampshire
0
33
1
0
0
36
51
55
14
3
193
North East Hampshire
1
24
0
0
0
12
42
26
5
2
112
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire
0
24
0
5
1
26
54
89
9
18
226
Southampton and New Forest
6
41
0
4
4
26
46
50
7
9
193
ISLE OF WIGHT
1
5
0
0
2
11
20
28
16
1
84
KENT
Central and South East Kent
0
6
0
0
0
9
72
36
19
16
158
Mid Kent and Medway
0
31
0
0
0
28
58
42
5
19
183
North East Kent
0
15
1
0
0
18
93
46
18
18
209
North West Kent
4
30
0
0
0
21
72
42
15
2
186
MILTON KEYNES
3
14
2
0
0
8
35
33
7
11
113

 
 Table 10: Inquest verdicts returned, by jurisdiction, 2008 (continued)
 
County 
 
 
/ unitary authority or district
Verdict category
Total, all 
verdicts
Homicide, 
killed 
unlawfully 
and killed 
lawfully
Suicide
Lack of care 
or self-
neglect
Dependence 
on drugs
Non-
Death from 
dependent 
industrial 
abuse of 
diseases
drugs
Death by 
accident or 
mis-
adventure
Deaths from 
natural 
causes
Open 
verdicts
All other 
verdicts (1)
OXFORDSHIRE
5
54
0
0
0
14
121
65
22
34
315
 SURREY
1
39
5
0
1
33
80
65
56
18
298
WEST SUSSEX
3
51
0
2
3
27
84
40
17
28
255
SOUTH WEST
AVON
12
83
1
50
3
58
216
248
39
17
727
CORNWALL
0
43
2
2
2
20
97
89
66
55
376
DEVON
Exeter and Greater Devon
0
38
1
2
20
18
113
76
7
8
283
Plymouth and South West Devon
3
16
0
5
2
41
86
99
15
41
308
Torbay and South Devon
DORSET
0
24
0
3
0
10
43
6
11
5
102
Bournemouth, Poole and Eastern Dorset
1
43
0
12
2
7
59
22
13
26
185
Western Dorset
0
10
0
0
0
10
31
7
15
1
74
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
7
28
0
0
0
23
167
89
20
19
353
ISLES OF SCILLY
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
3
SOMERSET
Eastern Somerset
1
22
0
1
0
6
39
51
10
16
146
Western Somerset
1
18
0
5
0
9
60
54
9
15
171
WILTSHIRE AND SWINDON
26
33
0
3
4
28
86
85
12
49
326
WALES
Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys
1
18
0
0
0
24
60
54
12
21
190
Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
1
28
1
10
0
18
74
168
35
131
466
Carmarthenshire
0
21
0
0
0
3
43
19
8
0
94
Central North Wales
0
22
1
1
0
7
98
45
12
23
209
Ceredigion
0
3
0
0
0
2
22
9
1
1
38
Gwent
15
38
0
0
0
8
70
10
2
3
146
Neath and Port Talbot
0
13
0
0
1
1
13
11
7
2
48
North East Wales
0
26
1
0
0
11
108
47
14
37
244
North West Wales
0
21
0
1
3
9
50
42
5
21
152
Pembrokeshire
1
16
1
0
0
13
20
34
2
0
87
Powys
0
6
0
0
0
2
14
10
4
1
37
City and County of Swansea
0
19
0
3
0
4
36
52
10
8
132
TOTAL ENGLAND and WALES
265
3,305
35
343
274
2,474
9,230
7,556
2,167
3,347
28,996
(1) All other verdicts include those categories from Tables 4 and 6 for which separate columns are not shown in this table.
(2) The inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi al-Fayed were concluded under the jurisdiction of the Inner West London coroner, and returned narrative verdicts (included in the 
"all other verdicts" column of this table).
NB: A table showing inquest verdicts by district broken down by males and females can be found in the spreadsheet version of the coroners statistics tables.
27 

 
28 
Explanatory notes 
1. This is a National Statistics publication produced by the Ministry of 
Justice. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards 
set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular 
quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. 
They are produced free from any political interference. 
2. The data analysed in this publication are based on annual returns from 
H.M. Coroners. Coroners are required under the provisions of Section 28 
of the Coroners Act 1988 to furnish to the Secretary of State returns in 
relation to inquests held and deaths inquired into by him (or her) in such 
form and containing such particulars as the Secretary of State may 
direct. Thanks are due to coroners and their staff for their work in 
preparing these returns. 
Symbols and conventions 
The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin: 
n/a  
= Not applicable 
- 
= Nil 
.. 
= Not available 
(R)  
= Revised data 
 
Definitions 
The following brief definitions are intended as a guide to the meaning of 
terms in this bulletin concerning coroners and their work; more detailed 
definitions will be found in the Coroners Act 1988 and the Treasure Act 
1996. 
Coroner; deaths reported 
In England and Wales, all violent and unnatural deaths, sudden deaths of 
unknown cause, and all deaths of persons in custody, are reported to 
coroners. Coroners are appointed by local authorities; they must be 
barristers, solicitors or registered medical practitioners and must have at 
least five years’ standing in the relevant profession. The relevant legislation 
and guidance is contained within the Coroners Act 1988 and the Coroners 
Rules 1984 (as amended). 
Non-inquest cases  
The coroner's investigation is concluded most often without an inquest being 
held. The coroner will have satisfied himself or herself, by means of a post-
mortem examination or other investigation, on the physical cause of death, 
and that the death was not one on which he or she is required by law to hold 
an inquest. 
 

 
29 
Post mortem examinations 
A coroner may request that a post-mortem examination be conducted, 
whether or not an inquest is held, particularly if the cause of death is not 
clear. In many cases a post-mortem examination is conducted in order to 
determine whether or not an inquest is necessary. Other post-mortem 
examinations are held which are not ordered by the coroner. Details of 
these are collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). See the 
further information section below for details of how to obtain statistics on this 
and other related topics. 
Inquests 
A coroner must hold an inquest if the body of a person (‘the deceased’) lies 
within his or her district* and if he or she has reasonable cause to suspect 
that the deceased: 
(a) died a violent or unnatural death; 
(b) died a sudden death the cause of which is unknown; or 
(c) died in prison or in such place or in such circumstances as to require an 
inquest under any other Act. 
[*The cause of death does not have to have arisen within the coroner’s district.] 
The holding of an inquest requires the coroner to determine: 
(a) who the deceased was; 
(b) how, when and where the deceased came by his or her death, and any 
further particulars necessary to enable the death to be registered. 
Verdicts are returned in nearly all coroners’ inquests. The exceptions are 
those inquests adjourned by the coroner which he or she later decides not 
to resume, and are mainly inquests into deaths by unlawful killing and 
deaths by dangerous driving or careless driving when under the influence of 
alcohol or drugs, in which court proceedings have been instituted. This 
avoids the need for two tribunals to consider the same evidence. A 
“narrative verdict” is where the coroner makes a brief and factual statement 
at the conclusion of the inquest but does not return one of the suggested 
short-form verdicts. 
Juries 
Nearly all inquests are held by a coroner sitting alone, without a jury. A jury 
must be summoned where the death occurred: 
(a) in prison, or in such a place or such circumstances as to require an 
inquest under another Act; 
(b) in police custody, or resulted from an injury caused by a police officer in 
the purported execution of his or her duty; 
(c) where there are certain statutory reporting obligations under the Health 
and Safety Act 1974 or any other Act, and in certain other circumstances, 
especially where there may be a continuing or recurring danger to the 
public. 

 
30 
Treasure and treasure trove 
In addition to inquiring into certain deaths, coroners also have jurisdiction to 
inquire into any treasure which is found in their districts and to establish who 
were the finders. With the commencement of the Treasure Act 1996 on 24 
September 1997 inquests into finds which previously might have been 
declared treasure trove are supplemented by those now conducted to 
determine whether finds made on or after that date are treasure. 
Registered deaths 
All deaths in England and Wales must be registered with the Registrar of 
Births and Deaths. The term ‘registered deaths’ in this bulletin refers to 
deaths registered within a specific time period (in this case, calendar years). 
Statistics on registered deaths in England and Wales are published by the 
ONS in the bulletin Health Statistics Quarterly. At the time of going to press, 
figures had been published for the number of registered deaths in the first 
three quarters of 2008, but not for the full year as a whole. The estimate of 
502,600 registered deaths in 2008 (as included in Table 2) was derived by 
adding the number of registered deaths in the fourth quarter of 2007 to the 
total for the first three quarters of 2008. 
Revisions to statistics for previous years 
Table 8 incorporates revisions to the number of finds reported to coroners 
under the Treasure Act 1996 in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Four finds in the 
Teesside district (two in 2005 and two in 2006) had not previously been 
included in the total. Some 27 finds reported to the Spilsby and Louth 
coroner in 2007 had also been omitted. 
Further notes 
Prior to 1 June 2005, policy responsibility for H.M. Coroners lay with the 
Home Office, but on that date it passed to the Department for Constitutional 
Affairs as part of machinery of government changes following the 2005 
general election. Responsibility now lies with the Ministry of Justice, which 
was created on 9 May 2007. 
Further information on deaths occurring annually in England and Wales is 
published by the Office for National Statistics in their Mortality Statistics 
series (DH1, DH2, etc.); these may be downloaded from their website at 
www.statistics.gov.uk. 
Prior to the transfer of responsibility, the Home Office published statistical 
bulletins based on coroners’ annual returns, since 1980. The last four 
bulletins published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin series were as 
follows: for year 2003, bulletin 9/04; for 2002, bulletin 6/03; for 2001, bulletin 
3/02; and for year 2000, bulletin 7/01. These may be found at: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubsstatistical.html. 

 
31 
Contact points for further information 
Current and previous editions of this publication are available for download 
at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/coronersannual.htm. A spreadsheet file 
of the statistics tables in this bulletin are also available for download from 
this address. 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
Press Office 
Ministry of Justice 
10th Floor 
102 Petty France 
London SW1H 9AJ 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: 
Richard Allen 
Ministry of Justice 
8th Floor 
102 Petty France 
London SW1H 9AJ 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
A copy of the data collection form which was sent to coroners can be 
obtained via the contact details above. 
An extended version of Table 10, showing inquest verdicts by district broken 
down by males and females, can be found in the spreadsheet file of the 
statistics tables on the Ministry of Justice website via the web address at the 
top of this page. User feedback would be welcome on the continuing 
relevance of the statistics included in this table. 
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s annual reports on the 
Treasure Act 1996 may be found on their website: www.culture.gov.uk. 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be 
e-mailed to: xxx@xxx.xx. 
Other National Statistics publications, and general information about the 
official statistics system of the UK, are available from www.statistics.gov.uk. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Alternative formats are available on request from 
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