Money worries led to railway suicide

Julie Ling, 41, of Amherst Road, Hastings, was found on the railway line in Mountfield in the early hours of May 18 by train driver Stuart Tapsell.

An inquest into her death was held on Wednesday, which heard that Miss Ling owed at least 40,000 in credit card bills.

She was also grief-stricken over the sudden death of her mother.

PC Allister Garwood, from British Transport Police, said Miss Ling's body was found 50 yards south of Eatenden Lane in Mountfield and her car parked in a lay-by.

She died after sustaining multiple internal injuries.

PC Garwood said: "It has come to light that there were worsening debts, one of which was in the region of 40,000."

Miss Ling's brother Keith, who lives in Corfu, Greece, said in a statement that Miss Ling was a 'very intelligent' woman who was close to her late mother.

He said: "That morning at 4am I got a text message from Julie and was confused by its content. I later received a phone call from a friend at 11am who had bad news.

"I was in shock and could not take it all in. He told me she had sent the same text message to other people. My sister Sarah, who lives in New Zealand, also received one.

"Everyone was in total disbelief as no one ever believed Julie would take her own life. Even now we cannot believe it."

Mr Ling said his late sister worked for Lloyds in London but left that job to do a full-time law degree course at Essex University because she wanted to get into the law profession, specialising in marine law.

She left in 2005 but found it hard to get into her chosen career, instead taking up a job at Goldsmith and Allcorn car dealerships in Uckfield.

Mr Ling said: "She developed a knack in selling cars and became the top sales woman in the whole of the south east."

Miss Ling left that job in September last year and lived with her mother in St Leonards.

Her brother told the inquest that the death of his mother hit Miss Ling 'hard' because of its suddenness.

Mr Ling said: "I only have become aware of debts she had with bank cards since her death.

"After leaving her job in Uckfield she was self-employed but the recession hit and Julie found it tough. She never mentioned any financial problems she was having to me but she was eating into the funds left by her mother."

Philip Lyne, a family friend, said he had spoken to Miss Ling just two weeks before her death.

He said: "Something must have triggered this because she had made arrangements to go on holiday with a friend a few weeks later and bought an airline ticket in order to visit her sister in New Zealand.

"Julie had plenty of friends. I have spoken to a lot of people who knew her since her death and none of us had any idea of the problems."

Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of suicide