The body of a woman found in in the sea off Chesil Beach has been identified.

The inquest at County Hall in Dorchester revealed that the remains were those of Cherie Irene Davies, 49, of Sidmouth, Devon.

Coastguards were alerted to her body floating off Chesil Beach on Wednesday at 6.24pm by a local fisherman, and Lyme Regis lifeboat recovered the body.

In the following days Dorset Police launched a public appeal and released a description to help identify the body.

She was described as a middle to late-middle-aged woman, 5ft 4ins tall and of slim build – about size 10 to 12 – with brown, greying straight hair. Her left ear had been pierced twice.

A Dorset Police spokesman said that she was ‘partially clothed in blue leggings, black socks and black trainers with a distinct bright pink sole’.

Officers said her body may have been in the water for several weeks.

A post-mortem was conducted and the cause of death is as yet ‘unascertained’, but Dorset Police said there was no evidence of a suspicious death.