A Chinese student adopted at birth so her mother could try for a son jumped to her death from a multi-storey car park in Bradford city centre, an inquest heard.

Li Li Wang, who lived in Bradford with her aunt and her second husband, had been told the truth about her adoption when she was ten.

Today an inquest in the city heard it had been arranged for her to be brought up by her aunt due to China’s one-child policy and because her mother wanted a son.

The 18-year-old, who had come with her adoptive family to England, was a student at Bradford University.

The inquest heard she was not happy when her aunt divorced and she got a stepfather. She was unhappy with her studies and wanted to give up even though her family tried to talk her out of it and to wait until they had opened a new take-away in the city where she could work.

The inquest was told how Miss Wang had got her parents to give her a lift to the university on the day of her death last December, asking them to pick her up later – unbeknown to them the university had already shut for Christmas.

When her aunt returned home to Cloudsdale Avenue, West Bowling, she discovered a series of notes left on and under her daughter’s pillow. One said she was going to kill herself.

Her frantic parents went to the police but were told they were too late as Miss Wang’s body had been discovered at the city’s Southgate car park by a passer-by.

A single set of footprints found in the snow by police to the top storey of the car park indicated she had been alone when she jumped. CCTV footage was also viewed.

Miss Wang died from multiple injuries.

Summing up that Miss Wang had killed herself, Deputy Coroner Paul Marks said: “If there is only one crumb of comfort I can throw out to her family it is that Li Li’s death would have been instantaneous.

“She would not have suffered any pain, she would have lost consciousness on impact.”