A woman drove her car over cliffs while suffering from post traumatic stress disorder following an armed raid on a building society.

An inquest yesterday into the death of Sandra Keating, 56, of Goldstone Crescent, Hove, revealed the grandmother had become stressed through her job at the Halifax Building Society but her condition worsened after armed robbers held staff hostage for two hours in August 2001.

Husband Phillip, a sales manager, said: "Her problems started last year. She was concerned the job was getting too much for her.

"She didn't need to work but having three grandchildren and a fourth on the way she wanted to keep up with the technology and keep up with the children on the computers.

"The raid was the final nail. After that she was very unpredictable. I felt the system let her down and I still do."

In a statement read out from her doctor Julian Greaves, from the Preston Park Surgery, Florence Road, Brighton, he said he felt Mrs Keating had been left traumatised by the raid and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.

The court heard she had been taking anti-depressants and tranquillisers and, despite warnings, had also been drinking.

Mrs Keating had been sectioned shortly before Christmas 2001 but had shown signs of improvement after her release.

Colin Watkins, a staff nurse at the Wish Day Hospital, said she had requested counselling.

Mr Keating said he had left for work as usual on the morning of March 3 this year.

He said: "I rang her after lunch and she had been speaking to my daughter-in-law. She seemed calm."

Mrs Keating had driven her silver Honda to Beachy Head, where she drove the car off 300ft cliffs, close to the Belle Tout lighthouse, at around 4.30pm.

Lighthouse owner Louise Roberts said she had spotted the car driving up an access road.

The court heard a padlock, used to keep the gate to the access road closed, had been found close to Mrs Keating's car.

Mrs Roberts told the court she thought the gate had been locked.

An empty bottle of spirits was also found in the car. A pathologist found a blood alcohol reading of 288 miligrams of alcohol in her blood, three and a half times the legal driving limit.

Coroner Alan Craze, sitting at Eastbourne magistrates court, recorded a verdict of suicide.