AN army corporal based in Bulford took her own life because she was stressed, working 80-hour weeks and upset about a relationship breakdown, an inquest heard today.

Anne-Marie Ellement, 30, was found hanged in a stairway outside her accommodation at Kiwi Barracks by colleagues on October 9 last year.

She had written ‘I’m sorry’ in pink lipstick on the mirror in her room.

An inquest held at Salisbury Coroners’ Court on Friday heard she had found her role as section commander of 158 Provost Company challenging and she worked 80 hours a week, despite being diagnosed with stress and depression.

On September 19 she was signed off sick but statements from colleagues read out by deputy assistant coroner Ian Singleton said she was often called in on rest days and even while she was on sick leave.

Friends said she often took “army banter” to heart and evidence was heard that comments were made on Facebook highlighting mistakes she had made in a report, which had upset her.

The court was told Cpl Ellement, who was described as “determined” and “tough”, had previously served in Northern Ireland and Germany but moved to Bulford after she said she had been raped.

She had ambitions to become a dog handler for the Royal Military Police and had been accepted for a selection day at the end of October.

During the week before she died, Cpl Ellement had celebrated her 30th birthday with family and friends who said she seemed her usual self.

On the afternoon of October 9 she had been exchanging text messages with her ex-boyfriend during the afternoon and she was angry and upset that he had started seeing someone else.

Several colleagues saw Cpl Ellement outside the barracks shortly before she died and said that although she looked visibly upset there was no sign that she intended to take her own life.

Captain Sean Kimber, second in command of 158 Provost Company, said he wasn’t aware that Miss Ellement had returned to Bulford during her sick leave and that the reason she was working so many hours in her own time was due to her own work ethic.

Deputy assistant coroner Ian Singleton said Cpl Ellement had “been subject to a number of pressures and stress” at work but that the situation with her ex-boyfriend had been “the final straw” and that when she killed herself she had done it on the spur of the moment.

Verdict: suicide.