NUMBER OF CASES ABOVE THE SIX-MONTH LIMIT DROPS TO 260

ACTION to reduce Staffordshire's inquest backlog is starting to work, new figures show.

- By PHIL CORRIGAN

Hundreds of grieving families across the county have been waiting too long to find out why their loved ones died, due to capacity problems within the coroners service.

But new figures show that the number of cases over the six-month statutory time limit for an inquest fell from 297 in December to 260 in February.

The number of cases over 12 months reduced from 136 to 118, while the total number of open cases dropped from 788 to 672.