Moroccan mystery death inquest

The wife of a Christchurch-based engineer who fell 20 metres to her death from a Moroccan apartment suffered head, neck and back fractures, an inquest has heard.

The Daily Mirror has reported that mum-of-four Mathilde 'Tilly' Lamb, 43, of England, died the day before her husband, Roger, also perished in a fall from a nearby hotel balcony.

The British tabloid also reported that police in Morocco are treating her death as an accident and 47-year-old Mr Lamb's as "suicide."

Mrs Lamb's body was repatriated to the UK last weekend. Meanwhile, it is still unclear when Mr Lamb's body will be returned to his homeland.

A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman told Worcester News: "Mrs Lamb has been repatriated. At the moment we don't know if we are dealing with Mr Lamb as we have had no instruction from the coroner."

Mr Lamb, a 47-year-old geotechnical engineer for GHD who had moved to Christchurch last year and had become a popular figure in local horse carriage driving circles, died when he apparently jumped from the balcony of the Sofitel Hotel in Essaouira.

The couple's four sons, aged nine to 16, are being looked after by family in the UK.