Housing association worker was stabbed in the heart, inquest told

Eleanor Storey, Press Association

A housing association worker who died after an incident in Bridgend was stabbed in the heart, an inquest has heard.

Eleanor Ann Barnfield, 47, died in hospital on October 19 after being found by paramedics with injuries to her chest following a car crash.

Clifford Foster, 61, has previously appeared in court charged with her murder.

An inquest opening at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard a provisional cause of death for Ms Barnfield had been given as “stab wound to the trunk involving the heart”.

The coroner’s officer told the hearing: “South Wales Police received a report of a road traffic collision in Bridgend on the 19th October 2026.

“The driver, Eleanor Barnfield, was found to have a stab wound to her chest by attending paramedics.”

The inquest opening heard Ms Barnfield was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, where she later died.

The decision to charge Foster followed a “significant policing operation” around Ger-y-Nant, where he lived and which is managed by the Valleys to Coast housing association, where Ms Barnfield worked.

He was remanded into custody ahead of plea and trial preparation hearing on November 23.

Ms Barnfield has been described by her family as the “most loving” mother and “bravest person in the world”.

In a tribute issued through police previously, they said: “She meant everything to us and will be forever loved and missed deeply by her devoted family and friends. She was our rock.”