Mum lay ‘screaming’ whereas trapped face-down in sea defence rocks, inquest hears
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, was walking her daughter and dog on the town’s seafront when she fell and became trapped in sea defence rocks as the tide came in
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, died on the seafront after falling onto rocks(Image: Facebook)
A mum who tragically drowned after becoming trapped headfirst in sea defence rocks as the tide rolled in might have been saved if the ambulance service had alerted the fire brigade more promptly, a coroner has stated.
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, was out with her daughter walking their dog along the town’s seafront when she took a tumble on February 2 last year.
A young girl dialled 999 at 7.52pm and within the first half-minute of the call explained to an ambulance service operator that Ms Cole-Nottage was “caught head down in the rock” by the “seafront”. At 7.57pm and 7.58pm the caller mentioned Ms Cole-Nottage “screaming”, before stating at 7.59pm that she was “in the water now”.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was the last of the four emergency services to be informed, with the initial communication to the fire brigade occurring at 8.04pm.
Firefighters arrived on scene at 8.22pm and Suffolk area coroner Darren Stewart said it took them “less than half a minute” to free her after first hands were placed on her at 8.29pm. She was pronounced dead at 8.44pm.
The coroner, recording a narrative conclusion, said Ms Cole-Nottage “died from drowning which has come about due to accidental circumstances”.
He noted that the East of England Ambulance Service “didn’t immediately contact the fire service”.
He went on to say: “Had the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service been immediately alerted to the incident … it’s possible that Saffron would have been extricated from the rocks sooner and survived. However, it’s not probable she would have done so.”
He portrayed Ms Cole-Nottage, who was employed as a cleaner, as a “loving mother completely devoted to her children”.
The coroner observed that Ms Cole-Nottage “had been drinking” on the day of the mishap.
Earlier in the inquest, it was reported that a level of 271 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood was found in Ms Cole-Nottage.
The legal limit for driving in England is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
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