Following a formal recruitment process, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the Chief Coroner for England and Wales, Ms Kirsty Gomersal has been appointed as the new HM Senior Coroner for the Cumbria area.
Ms Gomersal has been fulfilling the role on an acting basis since December 2024 following the sudden passing of Ms Kally Cheema, the former Senior Coroner for Cumbria.
Ms Gomersal has been the HM Area Coroner (and Designated Deputy) for the Cumbria area since 2018, having previously worked for a leading law firm, as well as being HM Assistant Coroner for West Yorkshire on a part time basis.
Ms Gomersal said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been appointed as Senior Coroner for Cumbria. Cumbria is a fantastic county in which to live and work, and it has been a privilege to have served the county and its communities as Area Coroner for the past seven years. I look forward to continuing to ensure that the deceased and the bereaved continue to be firmly at the heart of the coronial process.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to my predecessor Kally Cheema who served the county as HM Area and then Senior Coroner between 2016 and 2024. I will continue to build on the excellent service she and the Coroner's team provided to Cumbria.”
HM Coroners are independent judicial officers (Judges) and members of the judiciary, who investigate and, where required, hold an inquest into deaths where there is reason to suspect that the death was due to violent or unnatural reasons, the cause is unknown, or where a death occurs whilst a person was in custody or state detention.
In 2024 there were 1,570 deaths reported to the Coroner in Cumbria, with led to 450 inquests being held.
HM Coroners area in Cumbria is a judicial area, as set out in legislation, and following the local government reorganisation (LGR) that came into force in April 2023, Cumberland Council was appointed as the ‘relevant authority’ for coronial services in the county, however, the service is joint funded by Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Councils.