AN inquest has heard how the family of a teenage girl who took her own life are gravely concerned by the attitude of social services.

Sarah Goldman, 16 from Prestwich, was found dead in a derelict building on Brookside Drive in Kersal, on January 28, 2019, with tributes at the time describing her as “lovely, bright, intelligent and well-mannered.”

Assistant coroner Peter Sigee was told at Bolton Coroner’s Court that Miss Goldman’s family had been concerned about social services’ lack of sensitivity towards her status as a victim of grooming and to to their Jewish culture.

Giving evidence, mother Hadassah Goldman said: “There was no empathy, no sympathy. They had no idea of our Jewish culture, our boundaries, our respect.”

The court heard how Miss Goldman, a pupil of The King David High School in Crumpsall, was a “normal teenage girl” with a good relationship with her family. But during the last 18 months of her life her mental and emotional health suffered, particularly when she fell victim to being exploited by a much older man, on a trip to London in 2018.

The family decided to seek help from social services but say that they encountered several problems.

But they believe far too many social workers were assigned over to short a period of time making forming close relationships impossible. And they questioned some of the methods used, including showing her educational videos on sexual violence, which they felt were neither empathetic to her status as a victim nor sensitive to the family’s religion and culture. They also felt they were treated with a threatening rather than sympathetic attitude before Miss Goldman’s death in January 2019.

Mrs Goldman said: “I felt like we were dealing with people who weren’t educated enough on the victim side of things.”

Dr Naomi Carter, who carried out the post mortem examination on Miss Goldman confirmed her injuries were consistent with self-infliction.

Det Chief Insp Christopher Mannion, who led the police investigation, told Mr Sigee he was satisfied that there was “no evidence of third party involvement” in Miss Goldman’s death.

The inquest continues.