Bully claim head set fire to herself.

Byline: By Kim Pilling

A headteacher who set fire to herself was at the centre of a bullying probe at her school, an inquest heard yesterday.

Nassim Akhtar, 40, was suspended from her primary school in Manchester last November over claims she had bullied staff and used inappropriate language.

Two months later the mother-of-five was found dead in the back of her burnt-out car, parked on a secluded farm track.

Mrs Akhtar was appointed head of Cheetwood Community Primary School in Cheetham Hill last September. The former deputy head of Bradley Primary School in Nelson, Lancashire, was told to stay away from Cheetwood School on November 13 pending a formal investigation.

Blackburn Coroner's Court was told that Mrs Akhtar left her home in Mayville Road, in Brierfield, near Nelson between 2.50pm and 2.45pm on January 4 this year.

She asked her husband, Jameel, 27, to pick up their children from school and told him she would return "a short time later".

At about 4.15pm a passing motorist spotted a burnt-out vehicle on a farm track off Burnley Road, in Altham. Emergency services arrived at the scene and smashed open the blacked-out windows of the seven-seater people-carrier to find Mrs Akhtar slumped in the vehicle.

Firefighter Stephen Cope, who attended the scene, told the inquest that the fire was consistent with being started in the centre of the vehicle.

Mrs Akhtar was discovered in the middle row of the people-carrier, behind the front passenger seat. A four-litre container of paraffin and a box of matches were found nearby at the rear of the driver's seat.

Mr Cope explained that paraffin did not ignite as quickly as petrol and usually fire started slowly before accelerating dramatically.

He said: "It is my opinion that Nassim Akhtar set fire to herself while seated in the middle row of the car and although she had an opportunity to escape she chose not to."

Detective Sergeant Michael Cross said a police inquiry found no suspicious circumstances.

He added: "Our investigations established that Mrs Akhtar was employed by Manchester City Council from autumn of 2006 and was suspended on November 13 pending a formal investigation into complaints of allegations of bullying and inappropriate language being used.

Giving evidence, the deceased's brother Mohammed Rafique, also of Mayville Road, Brierfield, said she did not talk much about her suspension.

He said: "She never talked about work to me because she did not want to get me involved. But she did say she might get sacked.

"I know she was on the phone a lot to her union representative.

"It definitely affected her well-being and she stopped going out of the house."

Coroner Michael Singleton said he was satisfied that Mrs Akhtar had doused herself with paraffin and then set herself alight.

He said she died from a combination of the inhalation of the products of combustion and extensive burns to her body.

He expressed his condolences to the family, who were too upset to comment after the hearing.

Verdict: Killed herself.