THE daughter of speed hero Donald Campbell, who died on Coniston Water while trying to break his own world water speed record, says that an inquest Friday will finally dispel any rumours that her father committed suicide.

Gina Campbell will be among those present at John Ruskin School, Coniston, for the inquest into her father's death, in his jet-propelled Bluebird boat, on January 4, 1967.

Miss Campbell told The Westmorland Gazette that the accident investigator assigned to the case had visited her at home to look at a little piece of seat harness that she has, that was found still joined to Bluebird.

Miss Campbell said the investigator wished to measure the thickness of the harness, and the number of stitches.

"That's all really that my involvement has been," said Miss Campbell.

"It's something that the coroner has to do, and the only thing that I will find relieving

is, many moons ago, journalists were suggesting my father had committed suicide, but with honour.

This will completely dispel any of those theories."

Miss Campbell said she also planned to visit Windermere Records Week while she was in the Lake District.

Furness coroner Ian Smith, who is to conduct the inquest, told the Gazette there would be three witnesses at the inquest: Bill Smith, the Newcastle-based diver who led the recovery of Bluebird, and Campbell's body, from Coniston Water last year; an expert on dynamics, mechanics and accidents; and a pathologist.

Mr Smith said he had made "a deliberate policy decision" not to give journalists the names of the expert and the pathologist, because that could lead to the media attempting to "run the inquest in advance of the actual inquest" by contacting the individuals directly.

Mr Smith said the inquest would last for one day.

The inquest was opened and adjourned in August last year, at Barrow.

It heard that DNA tests carried out on the remains recovered from the lake by the Bluebird Team showed that they were 1.9 million times more likely to be Campbell than another man.

The body was released for burial, and the record-breaker was laid to rest in Coniston churchyard in September last year.

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