Three sisters who drowned off the coast of Brighton took their own lives as part of a suicide pact after visiting the place where their mother killed herself 16 years earlier, an inquest has found.

The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were pulled from the sea at Brighton beach on May 13.

Police and the coastguard had been alerted to reports of a woman in difficulty in the sea at around 5.45am.

But when they arrived they recovered the bodies of all three sisters who were later pronounced dead at the scene.

Today an inquest heard that less than 48 hours before the tragedy they had travelled from their shared home in Uxbridge, London to Erdington, Birmingham on May 11.

There they visited their mother’s former home before going to the lake where she took her life in 2010, also visited her grave.

After spending just 90 minutes in Birmingham they then took a taxi back to London in the early hours of May 12 and then onto Brighton that evening.

They arrived in Brighton at 10.21pm in the evening and were seen on CCTV cameras on the road adjacent to the beach.

Father Joseph Jacobson (second from left) with his daughters (left to right) Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters, and Rebecca Walters in an old image

Emergency services respond to the tragedy at Brighton Beach on May 13 in which all three sisters died 

For more than an hour they walked up and down the road, before CCTV picked up figures police believe to be the same three woman making their way onto the beach at 02.42am.

It was around three hours later that police received reports of a woman in difficulty in the water. 

None of the sisters were able to swim, the inquest heard. 

Coroner Schofield told the court she was ruling that the three women ‘entered the sea at West Beach, Brighton to end their lives.’

The women died 16 years after their mother Janice, who died from drowning after going missing in December 2009.

She was last seen by one of her daughters and had been struggling with stress-related mental health issues.

She was found dead three months later. 

The sisters’ father, Joseph Jacobson, told the inquest: ‘There are no words that can adequately express the loss of a child. It’s a heartbreak beyond anything I could imagine. 

‘Each had their own special place in my heart. They shared a special bond as sisters.’

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield: ‘On Wednesday, May 13, two calls were received reporting bodies could be seen in the sea in Brighton.

‘One body appeared lifeless and had been washed up on the shore. It was windy and the sea was particularly rough.’

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support 

This is a breaking news story and is being updated.