SEASIDE HORROR
Mum trapped head-first between sea rocks with legs sticking up in air as tide rose for 30 minutes before she drowned
A MUM was trapped head-first between sea rocks as the tide rose for at least 30 minutes before she died, an inquest heard.
Saffron Cole-Nottage was walking with her dog and daughter on a path at the base of the sea wall in Lowestoft, Suffolk, when the horror unfolded.
An inquest heard how one witness, Ian Jones, was “shocked to see two legs sticking out the water and a young girl stood nearby just screaming”.
Saffron’s feet were missing her trainers as they had apparently been removed by her daughter, who had been trying to pull her out.
Mr Jones and another man attempted to pull Saffron free but they “just couldn’t pull her with enough force to free her”.
Alex Singleton-Dent said he was walking along the seafront at around 8pm when he heard Saffron’s daughter screaming for help.
He said he ran to help and when he shone his phone light on the rocks he “could see two legs sticking out from them”.
Mr Singleton-Dent said that he worked with another man – Mr Jones – to try to get her free “but we just couldn’t”.
The statement added: “It felt like we were trying for ages and the emergency services didn’t arrive for hours but my adrenaline was going.
“I do know the female became unresponsive and the tide was coming in.”
A child who was at the scene said they “spent around 15 minutes trying to get her (Saffron) out”.
They told the inquest it “felt like an eternity waiting for the ambulance to arrive”.
“I can’t help but think if the ambulance arrived a little sooner they might have been able to do something to get the stuck lady out,” the child added.
The court heard an initial 999 call was made to the East of England Ambulance Service at 7.52pm but fire crews did not arrive until 8.22pm.
By the time emergency crews managed to free her, Saffron was tragically declared dead at the scene.
It previously emerged the mum was walking along a path under the town’s Esplanade promenade, despite signs telling people to keep away from the area.
Local likened the path to an “ice rink” as it was so slippery due to it being covered in algae.
The inquest heard she had been out at the Hatfield Hotel in Lowestoft “for a Sunday roast and a few drinks” before the tragedy.
She later walked to a pub near Claremont Pier but her partner, Mike Wheeler, said “she wasn’t slurring her words and was acting normally”.
At around 7pm, Saffron took their dog for a walk with their daughter and slipped 45 minutes later.
Pathologist Raj Logasundarum said a level of 271 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood was recorded – with the legal limit being 80.
The pathologist said this “would have significantly impaired her cognitive abilities”.
He recorded her medical cause of death as drowning.
In a pen portrait, read by barrister Saba Naqshbandi KC, Ms Cole-Nottage’s family described her as “truly one of a kind”.
They said she was “bubbly, fun and full of life” and “she had the rare ability to light up any room”.
The inquest, due to last two weeks, continues.
Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39013015/mum-died-trapped-sea-rocks-tide-delay/
