Three sisters who were discovered dead at the sea in Brighton took their own lives, an inquest has found.

The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32 and Rebecca Walters, 31, were pulled from the water after a member of the public raised the alarm at around 5.45am on 13 May.

An inquest found that the sisters took their lives the day after they visited the lake where their mother took her own life in 2010. Senior coroner Penelope Schofield ruled their deaths were suicide, but said the reason they took their lives “sadly may never be known”.

Emergency services were called to the beach on 13 May after concerns were raised about a person spotted in the water near Madeira Drive at around 5.45am. The bodies of the three sisters were later recovered from the sea.

The inquest heard that they arrived at Linton Walk, Birmingham, near to Brookvale Park Lake, at 11.36pm on May 11 and were picked up to return to the flat they lived in together in Greenford, west London, at 1.28am on May 12.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told the hearing at Woodvale Coroner’s Court in Brighton that there was no CCTV to see what the women had been doing in the time they were in Birmingham.

On the evening of May 12, they took a pre-booked taxi to Brighton and arrived near the seafront at 10.21pm.

They are thought to have last been seen alive on CCTV from the beach at 2.42am on 13 May.

Ms Adetoro was brought to shore by an RNLI crew and declared dead at the scene on the morning of May 13, the inquest heard.

Christina Walters was recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat, and Rebecca Walters was washed on to the shore of Brighton beach. They were also pronounced dead that morning by paramedics.

Concluding the inquest into their deaths, senior coroner Penelope Schofield told the court on Thursday: “On May 13, in hours of darkness, they entered the sea at Brighton, they could not swim and sea conditions were adverse.”

A post-mortem found all three women had drowned and cited no evidence of any drugs or alcohol in their bodies, and no evidence to suggest they had been subject to violence.

She concluded the medical cause of death for all three women was drowning and that they died by suicide.

“These three sisters lived very secluded lives, they were incredibly private, we don’t know why they took this course of action or indeed why they chose to do it in Brighton,” Ms Schofield told the court.

“It is not for the court to speculate and sadly these reasons may never be known.”

The inquest heard Christina Walters suffered from anxiety and depression since her mother’s death, but Ms Adetoro was not registered with a doctor, and Rebecca Walters’ records had nothing of note, Mr Cullimore said.

Giving evidence, he told the court financial inquiries revealed the women had cleared some of their bank accounts in the days leading up to their deaths.

Ms Adetoro, who worked in accountancy, had paid off a loan in full on May 11, the inquest was told.

Police searches of Christina Walters’s electronic devices found she had made “extensive searches” about suicide online in the month before her death.

Paying tribute to his daughters, their father Joseph Jacobson, who attended by videolink, said in a written statement: “There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child.

“To lose all three of my precious daughters, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”

He said he “cannot understand why their lives ended so suddenly”, but added: “You were my daughters, you will always be my daughters and I will love you for the rest of my life.

“May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace.”

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the , in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org website to find details of your nearest branchIf you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you