A lorry driver could not stop in time when mother-of-one Wendy Bodenham fell in front of him from a bridge over the M5 near Bristol, an inquest heard.

She plunged 37ft on to the southbound carriageway of the motorway from Naish Hill bridge near Clapton-in-Gordano after midnight one last June.

Mrs Bodenham, 41, who lived with her husband, James, and six-year-old son in Sorrell Gardens, Portishead, suffered massive injuries and was declared dead at the scene.

Police accident investigator PC Richard Hignett said the lorry driver, David Gazzard from Lawrence Weston, had no chance to swerve out of the way.

"The lorry driver said he saw the woman standing on the top of the railings with her arms in the air," he told Bristol Deputy Coroner Terrence Moore.

"He had the impression that she was waiting for him. The driver would have been unable to avoid a collision."

Mrs Bodenham became depressed when she had to give up her job as a psychiatric nurse after she was diagnosed with hepatitis C two years ago.

She suffered chronic back pain for more than 20 years and was prescribed morphine as a pain killer.

In a written statement to the inquest, her GP said she had been treated for severe anxiety for many years.

Mrs Bodenham married her husband James, a plumber, eight years ago and their son was born in 2002.

Mr Bodenham told the coroner his wife was in a very agitated state the night before her death because of her depression.

He said she left the house just before midnight on June 17, saying she wanted to "end it all".

Mr Hignett said the family car was found on Naish Hill bridge after Mrs Bodenham died at 1.24am.

The motorway was closed for several hours while emergency services investigated the scene, which was near the Easton-in-Gordano services.

Brian Horton, Mrs Bodenham's father, last saw his daughter a week before her death.

He said her behaviour gave him no indication that she intended to take her life, and she loved her young son.

Mr Horton said his daughter was full of life, but would often like to make "a grand gesture".

Mr Moore said: "She had a number of problems, chronic back pain, hepatitis C, employment difficulties, was on incapacity benefit and also suffered severe depression."

He said Mrs Bodenham took medication on the night of her death and that he could not be sure she intended to take her own life.

The Bristol Deputy Coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.