A Coroner is an independent judicial officer. They are assisted by Coroner’s Officers and secretarial staff.

The Coroner investigates and records the causes and circumstances of all deaths where the cause is unknown, or that was violent or unnatural, or occurred whilst the deceased was in lawful custody.

The information on this page is only about our local Coroner, you can find out more about the role of a Coroner here.

If you are concerned about a death you are entitled to raise these concerns with the Coroner.

Our Office is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm and on Fridays 9am to 3.30pm, except for Bank Holidays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Our address is : Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth. BH2 6DY.

01202 123 900

coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

The Coroner's team

The Senior Coroner for Dorset is Mrs Rachael Griffin. The Area Coroner for Dorset is Mr Brendan Allen. The Assistant Coroners are Mr Richard Middleton, Mrs Victoria Cook and Mrs Deborah Rookes. You can contact them at the Coroner's Office.

The Senior Coroner for Dorset covers deaths that occur in the administrative county of Dorset or where the body of a deceased person is found in Dorset, even if they died elsewhere.

The Assistant Coroners act when the Senior Coroner is not available. They have the full powers of the Senior Coroner.

Find out about inquest hearings

You can find all publicly available information here. Please do not contact the Coroner's Court office, staff or police press office as they cannot give you any further information.

In Person Attendance and Remote access for members of the Press and Public

The courts are open to members of the press and the public, except in exceptional circumstances.

If you wish to attend court in person, it would be helpful if you could notify our offices in advance.

Under the current legislation, participants to inquests including interested persons and witnesses are permitted, with the Coroner's approval, to attend remotely.

For anyone wishing to observe remotely, permission from the Coroner may also be granted.

All requests to attend hearings remotely will be placed before the Coroner for approval. In order to allow sufficient time to consider any request please complete the relevant document, with as much detail as possible and submit a minimum of two working days prior to the hearing. The form is accessed by clicking the above link.

The document must then be submitted by email to: coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Inquests to be opened week commencing Monday 15 December 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 15 December 2025
Tuesday 16 December 2025	Jacqueline Coombes	01.12.2025	Christchurch	Ringwood	1.30pm	88	Rachael Griffin
	Damien Alexander Main	22.11.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	46	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Thursday 18 December 2025	Richard Parker	06.12.2025	Southampton	Christchurch	1.30pm	73	Rachael Griffin
	Stephen Mark James	10.12.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	65	Rachael Griffin
	Robbie Kenneth Diffey	13.12.2025	Knowlton	Poole	1.30pm	24	Rachael Griffin
	Peter John D'Arcy	13.12.2025	Knowlton	Poole	1.30pm	57	Rachael Griffin
	Jazmin Pickersgill	12.12.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	23	Rachael Griffin
	Terry David Hurrell	11.12.2025	Dorchester	Bridport	1.30pm	81	Rachael Griffin
Friday 19 December 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 15 December to Friday 26 December 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 15 December 2025	Elizabeth Mary Taylor	24.01.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	86	Brendan Allen
	Brendan Joan Atkins	18.03.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	85	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 16 December 2025	Elizabeth Mary Taylor	24.01.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	86	Brendan Allen
	Michael James Hart	30.06.2025	Verwood	Verwood	10.00am	54	Richard Middleton
	David Sydney Raison	15.08.2025	Dorchester	Bridport	11.00am	82	Richard Middleton
	Derren Roy McAvoy	12.03.2025	Poole	Poole	12.00pm	35	Richard Middleton
	Stephen Seymour Burt	09.06.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	2.00pm	71	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 17 December 2025	Heather Elizabeth Newton	31.12.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	70	Brendan Allen
	Michael Henry Newton	31.12.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	76	Brendan Allen
Thursday 18 December 2025	Simon Andrew Webber	13.10.2024	Portland	Portland	11.00am (PIR)	40	Rachael Griffin
	Peter Malcolm Redfern	04.07.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	86	Rachael Griffin
	Margaret Harris	26.08.2025	Dorchester	Dorchester	2.00pm	88	Richard Middleton
	Luke William Amos	10.08.2025	San Diego	San Diego	2.30pm	39	Rachael Griffin
Friday 19 December 2025	Paul John Shears	30.09.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	53	Richard Middleton
	Robin Gilbert Toomer	01.10.2025	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	11.00am	84	Richard Middleton
	Carol Ann Stone	09.10.2025	Poole	Poole	12.00pm	80	Richard Middleton
Monday 22 December 2025	Christine Mary Joyce	02.08.2025	Sturminster Newton	Sturminster Newton	12.00pm	82	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 23 December 2025	Charlotte Louise Anne Hurt	25.06.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	37	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 24 December 2025
Thursday 25 December 2025			BANK	HOLIDAY
Friday 26 December 2025			BANK	HOLIDAY

Complaints about a Coroner's decision or the outcome of an Inquest can only be dealt with through proceedings in the High Court. The Coroner's office can explain the procedure, but cannot give legal advice. If you are researching past cases you have to apply to the Coroner in writing first before you can be given the information you are requesting.

Requests for more information

For more detailed information and/or copies of documents, you need to explain your relationship to the deceased and why you want the information.

Feedback and complaints

All complaints about the administration of the Dorset Coroner Service, or the conduct of individual coroners or their officers should first be raised by writing to the senior Coroner.

The Coroner cannot normally discuss cases which she is or has been involved with, but comments and suggestions on improving the Coroner Service are always welcome.