Three sisters who drowned in the sea off Brighton took their own lives, a coroner has ruled.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, had been living very secluded lives following the death of their mother, who drowned in 2010, senior coroner Penelope Schofield said.

On May 11, the women, who had all been living together in Greenford, London, visited an area of Birmingham close to where their mother died. They then travelled to Brighton beach, where they drowned in adverse sea conditions on May 13. The coroner noted they could not swim.

Their father, Joseph Jacobsen, described the loss as "heartbreaking to lose all three of my precious daughters." He was among family members who followed the proceedings via video link. In an emotional statement read on his behalf, he said he watched his daughters grow from little girls to beautiful, intelligent women with a special place in his heart. He expressed immense pain and hoped they were reunited with their mother.

The coroner stated that the sisters lived incredibly private and secluded lives, and the reasons for their actions or choice of location remain unknown. The court acknowledged that these reasons may never be fully understood.

The inquest heard the sisters left their London home and arrived in Brighton by taxi late on May 12. They were last seen alive in the early hours of May 13. Police investigation into Christina's laptop revealed numerous references to water and suicide, with the coroner noting she had experienced anxiety and depression since her mother's death.

Rebecca's medical records showed nothing significant, and Jane was not registered with a doctor, according to Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore. Postmortem tests found no drugs or alcohol in their systems, and there was no evidence of violence.

A previous inquest into their mother's death had concluded she died by drowning. The circumstances surrounding the sisters' deaths, particularly their inability to swim and the location chosen, remain a source of deep sorrow and unanswered questions for their grieving father and family.