A 35-year-old woman who had spent all her life in Pembroke Dock took her life by driving her car off the jetty at Hobb's Point, a coroner's court at Milford Haven was told yesterday (Thursday). Sharon Thomas, one of three children and who had three children of her own between 16 and seven years of age, had, after divorcing her husband, Peter, in 2000, begun increasingly suffering from depression which might have been aggravated by a speech problem. She was also having difficulty in sleeping and had been prescribed medication. At about 8 pm on the evening of Wednesday, July 28, after drinking next door with a friend, Michaelle Osborne, she returned to her home, 3A Owen Street, Pennar. At about 9.30 pm she was seen to get into her Vauxhall Astra car and friends tried to persuade her from driving off. Shortly afterwards, the car was observed to be driving down the slipway into the sea at Hobb's Point, with no obvious attempt being made to stop it. The vehicle quickly sank below water level and was not recovered until after midnight when the life of the driver was found to be extinct. A carpet sweeper handle was found to be jammed into the steering wheel, probably to ensure that the car did not go off course, stated PC Jessie Howells, investigating officer. A post mortem examination found the cause of death to be compatible with drowning and the coroner returned an open verdict.