A NEW senior coroner has been appointed to serve County Durham and Darlington following a competitive recruitment process.

Jeremy Chipperfield will take up his new position next Monday after receiving the consent of the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor.

His appointment follows the retirement of long-serving coroner Andrew Tweddle, who oversaw more than 90,000 inquests in a career spanning three decades.

Mr Chipperfield is a barrister and currently sits as acting senior coroner for West London and assistant coroner for Oxfordshire and Kent.

“It will be a great honour to serve the people of Durham and Darlington as their coroner,” said Mr Chipperfield.

“I look forward to working with what is an experienced team of officers, staff and assistant coroners to maintain a first class coroner service for this area.”

John Hewitt, Durham County Council’s corporate director for resources, welcomed Mr Chipperfield’s appointment.

“Jeremy brings with him significant experience from his work as a barrister and coroner in other parts of the country,” said Mr Hewitt.

“He was appointed following an extremely competitive recruitment process and I am sure he will be a great asset to the Durham and Darlington Coroner’s service.”

His predecessor, Mr Tweddle, began his career as a coroner in 1986 serving as a deputy in South Durham and Darlington.

He announced his retirement in August, stating: “The one thing you realise in this job is that we all die and I have been working all my life.

“You don’t know whether your day will come today, tomorrow or whenever and I have just decided it’s time to spend some time at home.”

He added: “It’s a job I have really enjoyed and loved and I do think we can make a difference.”