A mother drowned while trapped between sea defence boulders as the tide slowly rose over her after a possible delay in sending firefighters to the scene, an inquest heard today.
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, screamed for help as her 11-year-old daughter and two bystanders desperately tried in vain to pull her free from the giant rocks beneath the Esplanade in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
By the time firefighters arrived and pulled her free, she was no longer breathing and attempts to resuscitate her failed on the evening of February 2 this year.
Suffolk Coroner’s Court in Ipswich heard how Ms Cole-Nottage was out walking with her dog and her daughter when she lost her footing on a slippery concrete area beneath a sea wall.
An earlier hearing was told how the mother-of-three fell again as she tried to pull herself up and she became trapped in a gap with her head between giant sea defence rocks while the tide was coming in.
Suffolk Area Coroner Darren Stewart OBE said Ms Cole-Nottage had been discovered at 7.45pm and a 999 call was made to the East of England Ambulance Service at 7.52pm.
He told a pre-inquest hearing that there appeared to have been contact between the ambulance service and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service at 8.04pm or 8.05pm, and ‘a subsequent call’ from the Coastguard to the fire service.
But firefighters were not ‘dispatched to the location’ until five minutes later, the hearing was told.
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, drowned after slipping and being trapped between rocks on a Suffolk beach
She screamed for help as her 11-year-old daughter and two bystanders desperately tried in vain to pull her free from the giant rocks
By the time firefighters arrived and pulled her free, she was no longer breathing
Mr Stewart said he wanted to examine a possible ‘inconsistency’ in communications between emergency services.
He added: ‘In essence I want to understand in terms of the chronology whether there has been correct application of the co-ordination arrangements in respect of the best or most appropriate emergency services response.
‘On my initial view of the chronology there seems to be some inconsistency in terms of how some of the responses were being co-ordinated. Whether any of that was causative of her death is another matter that must be considered by the court.
‘When it comes to rising water levels and the method of death that occurred which is drowning, there is a very limited window of time available to be able to respond and save a life in those circumstances.’
Mr Stewart said a full inquest would ‘examine the circumstances’ of how Ms Cole-Nottage ‘becoming trapped in the rocks and then sadly dying as a result of the water levels rising and her drowning’.
He said he would not be asking Ms Cole-Nottage’s daughter to give evidence, and would instead be relying on her initial account given to police at the scene, and recorded by an officer’s body worn camera. She cannot be named for legal reasons.
The coroner said he would also be asking for statements from the bystanders Alex Singleton-Dent and Ian Jones who tried to ‘extradite her when she was trapped’.
He added: ‘I regard these accounts as being particularly important. Both gentlemen state that Ms Cole-Nottage was alive and distressed, and yelling for assistance, at the time they attended and when they interacted, trying to assist her. One of them is likely to have initiated the call to emergency services.’
Floral tributes on on Lowestoft seafront near where Saffron Cole-Nottage died
Heartbreaking tributes left for young mother on the seafront. Saffron had only given months to a baby boy months before the incident
Mr Stewart said Ms Cole-Nottage of Lowestoft was quickly pulled out of the water after a dozen firefighters in two appliances arrived on the scene.
He said: ‘The recovery was quite quick when it happened. That may have been due to the rising water levels which created a buoyancy.
‘It would seem that when emergency services got in beside her, her extraction was quite prompt. I want a statement from the people who did that to understand whether it might have been more of a challenge if they had got there a bit earlier.’
Mr Stewart said Ms Cole-Nottage and her daughter had been walking on an area between the rocks and the sea wall which he described as ‘not necessarily a path, but a level concrete hard standing.’
He added that he wanted evidence from East Suffolk Council about signs warning people to stay away from the rocks and the area behind them, and barriers to help prevent access to the spot.
The coroner said that such measures might help understand how Ms Cole-Nottage became trapped in the rocks.
But he added: ‘There are many parts of our coastline where there are erosion measures in place to shore up the coastline or naturally occurring rock formations.
‘To that extent, it’s certainly not the case that I am looking to identify the need for extensive warning signs of a disproportionate nature up and down the coastline of this country.’
A rose was left on the rocks at the base of the seawall following Ms Cole-Nottage’s death
‘No access’ signs are on the beach, presumably to stop people climbing on the huge boulders
Local residents speaking at the time of Ms Cole-Nottage’s death likened the spot where she fell as being like an ‘ice rink’ as it was so slippery due to it being covered in algae.
Senior inquest officer Paul Sermons read a statement at an earlier hearing, saying: ‘During the evening of February 2, Saffron and her daughter were walking their dog along a narrow coastal path next to the sea defence rocks at Lowestoft sea front.
‘Whilst walking, Saffron lost her footing and slipped, landing on the pathway. Although Saffron managed to get herself up, she slipped and landed with her head between the sea defence rocks.
‘Saffron became trapped in the rocks and partly submerged in the water with the tide rising. Attempts to free Saffron were made by her daughter and members of the public.
‘Police, fire, coastguard and ambulance services attended and although they managed to free Saffron from the rocks, she tragically died.’
Tributes were paid to Ms Cole-Nottage after her death with messages on flowers left tied on nearby railings, describing her as a ‘beautiful’ mother who would be ‘forever missed’.
The seafront rocks in Lowesoft, where emergency crews rushed to but could not save the mother
One touching tribute among messages, said: ‘My beautiful mummy, I love you the world.’
Her partner Michael Wheeler left a hand-written message, saying: ‘My darling Saff, What can I really say. There are no words to express how much we will miss you.
‘The world is so cruel and to take you in this freak horrific way will not sit well with me for the rest of my life.
‘You will be forever missed by so many, and I’m really not sure I’ll ever be the same without you. Me and the kids will love you and never forget you. Until we meet again, love always, Mike and the kids.’
