The inquest into the death of Sarah Everard has opened - as police searched cliffs and water in Dover.

Ms Everard was reported missing by her boyfriend on March 4 after failing to turn up at work and her body was found in Hoad's Wood behind the disused Great Chart Golf and Leisure complex near Ashford six days later.

Today, an inquest was opened and immediately adjourned until after the court case in October.

It was revealed the second post-mortem examination was provided on request of the coroner rather than the police. Sarah has now been released to her family for her funeral.

Coroner Patricia Harding said: "All that remains is to express to the family watching today how very sorry I am for your loss."

Her family joined the inquest on a remote link.

Sarah went missing while walking home from a friends flat in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.

A search across the county began following the arrest of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens at his home in Freeman's Way, Deal last Tuesday.

Yesterday it moved back to Dover with land near the abandoned St John's Ambulance Centre taped off.

The footpath from the top of North Military Road to Folkestone Road was also blocked and today Military Road from Bowling Green Lane to Citadel Road is also under cordon.

Police at the former BCB Garage in Western Heights, Dover

The derelict BCB Garage in Western Heights, where Couzens worked for 20 years, is also sealed off and being guarded by an officer.

The workshop shut in 2015 and has sat abandoned ever since on land now owned by the council.

Specialist officers have been seen abseiling down cliffs while divers scoured waterways in the town.

Yesterday, officers in Sandwich taped off a rail-side builders' yard off Woodensborough Road after arriving in the town on Sunday.

They have examined undergrowth and rooted through rubbish and clothes bins while divers scoured the River Stour.

On Tuesday, 48-year-old Couzens appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Belmarsh charged with her kidnap and murder.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC said the circumstances of the case had led to a “very significant and wide-ranging investigation”.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC set a provisional Old Bailey trial for October 25 with a plea hearing on July 9.

Ms Everard’s death has sparked vigils across the country in her memory and demands for action to tackle violence against women.

Images of women being manhandled by police officers at a vigil on Clapham Common on Saturday night has led to shock and widespread condemnation.

The investigation into Sarah's death continues and is being led by Specialist Crime Command detectives who are drawing on expertise and skills from hundreds of colleagues across the Met. They are also being supported by Kent Police.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: "On Wednesday evening detectives investigating Sarah's disappearance discovered a body secreted in woodland in Ashford, Kent.

“I can now confirm this has been formally identified as Sarah. A post-mortem examination is now taking place.

"Specialist officers are in constant contact with her family and have updated them on this terrible news.

“We continue to support them as best we possibly can in these truly dreadful circumstances."

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