Gossip: Anna Sargent commits suicide

A PR executive leapt to her death from a bridge over the Thames after becoming dependent on a powerful drug she was taking to tackle her alcoholism, an inquest heard today.

Anna Sargent had come across baclofen online when she was trying to find a way to get over her addiction to alcohol.

But despite being treated at the exclusive Priory clinic, she was unable to deal with the drug's withdrawal symptoms and killed herself while in a depressive spiral.

Ms Sargent, 36, was last seen alive on September 18 last year when she left Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, West London, where she was being treated for severe panic attacks.

Police searched for her after she went missing but were unable to find her until her body washed up on the shore of the River Thames next to Hammersmith Bridge eight days later, West London Coroner's Court heard.

Ms Sargent's parents, David and Margaret, have accused staff at the Priory of mismanaging their daughter's attempts to stop using baclofen, whose withdrawal symptoms include hallucinations, insomnia and confusion.