Karen Stephen dissects the duties of Bolton's coroner TO the uninitiated, it seems the work of a coroner revolves around scenes of death and multitudes of dissected internal organs. But those of you who watched Ch 4's The Coroner, a 'behind the scenes' documentary series on the workings of a coroner's office, will realise the actualities of the job are very different.

In fact, very few coroners actually see a dead body - much of their work is painstakingly put together through a great deal of administrative work - and extensive inquiry.

The office of the coroner is one of the most ancient in English law - they can outrule a county court judge.

And, although proposals have often been made to reduce the scope of coroners' inquests - they continue to be held to inquire into violent, unnatural or sudden death, or deaths which have taken place in some forms of custody.

The coroner for Bolton is Martin Coppel - a softly-spoken Belfast man who also holds inquests in Wigan, Leigh and Salford.

By law a coroner must be a barrister, solicitor or doctor with at least five years' standing.

Mr Coppel practised as an extremely successful solicitor for 30 years in Belfast, Manchester and Sale, before becoming a coroner six years ago (he was assistant coroner in Manchester for two years beforehand).

"Yes it's true," he smiles as we chat in his office adjacent to Bolton's coroner's court, "many people think I spend all my days cutting up internal organs and racing from one death scene to another, but that really isn't the case.

"My work involves a great deal of paper work," he says, indicating piles of neatly-stacked files sitting in regimental rows on a large polished table.

"An inquiry is rather like a jigsaw puzzle - putting pieces of information together to form the whole picture.

"I request reports from various sources - hospitals, witnesses - and a coroner's officer will interview the family of the deceased so I can gain an insight into the person's life."

"But the post mortem is performed by a histo pathologist - in fact the coroner can be quite removed from the physical side of proceedings."

He adds: "I have never actually attended a post mortem but I do sometimes need to look at photographic evidence of a death.

"This is never a pleasant thing but in some cases it's a necessity.

"I used to be squeamish, but not now," he adds with a wry smile.

Once the post mortem is complete the inquest can then be arranged.

An inquest is held to find out who the deceased was, how, when and where they died and to register the particulars. It's a public inquiry and must be attended by the deceased's family.

if they fail to turn up they can be summoned by the coroner who can also impose a fine of up to £1,000 if they still fail to show.

A coroner also has the right to keep a body until after an inquest has been completed.

"That can be very traumatic for the family concerned," says Mr Coppel, "especially in certain communities, such as Asian, where religion demands a quick burial.

"In cases like these I do everything I can to comply with their wishes."

But he remembers one case where the body of a western teenager was kept for six months before burial.

"The teenager had died a violent death and police inquiries were intense and lengthy," recalls Mr Coppel.

"I felt for the family, I really did."

Talking to him, it's easy to believe this revelation. The 59-year-old father of three is clearly genuine in his concern.

And he says if he's holding an inquest into the death of someone "the same age as one of my sons" he does experience pangs of emotion.

"But of course," he explains, "I'm not there to do that, my job is to determine the cause of death but that doesn't mean I'm always completely detached from the whole thing."

Cases that have the strongest effect on Mr Coppel are those involving drugs and young people.

"I think 'what a complete waste of a life'." He shakes his head sadly, "I must deal with two such cases a week - far too many."

But, while he admits he can't call his job "enjoyable" he does describe it as "satisfying".

"It's very much an involved job," he explains, "for example, if someone dies while on an aeroplane then, during the course of my investigations, I'd become familiar with the workings of an aircraft.

"I'm learning new things each time."

Training for a coroner is extremely intensive. After landing the job - which is advertised in the usual way and the successful candidate selected by the local authority - concentrated weekend courses are held by the Home Office and Coroners' Society.

"These courses are very intense," says Mr Coppel, "non-stop learning," he chuckles.

Chatting to this unassuming and modest man it's clear he treats his job not only with the utmost professionalism, but with a great deal of compassion.

"You have to," he says, "families and friends have lost someone very dear. They've already gone through the heartbreak of the loss, now they have to endure the inquest too."

But, happily, he does find time to indulge in his hobbies of golf and bridge.

"I was introduced to bridge as a student at Queen's University in Belfast," he says.

"In fact I became quite good at it and played at international level."

Gentle coaxing finally gets him to admit that he was the first ever Junior European Champion "back in the 60s", but he plays only for pleasure now. Away from the sometimes oppressive atmosphere of the coroner's court, Martin Coppel is a family man who likes nothing more than to talk about his three sons.

"My 26-year-old is a bit of a high flier," he beams with obvious pride. "He's a London-based solicitor who's just finished three months at the bar in America.

"And my other two - 24-year-old twins - are doing just as well."

With that we leave his bright, cheerful office and walk back through the more sombre surroundings of the court.

As he bades me goodbye I ask him what he thought of the CH4 series.

"I watched the first one out of curiosity," he admits. But, to be honest, I found it all rather boring."

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