A TRAGIC mum who drowned while trapped head-first in sea rocks could have been saved if the ambulance service hadn’t bungled her rescue, a coroner ruled.
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.
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Saffron Cole-Nottage died after getting trapped between sea rocks Credit: Facebook
Her daughter tried desperately to free her mum from the rocks Credit: East Anglia News Service
Suffolk Coroner’s Court was told there was a bungled emergency response during the bid to rescue Saffron.
Suffolk area coroner Darren Stewart today found Saffron “died from drowning which has come about due to accidental circumstances”.
Ruling a narrative conclusion, he said the East of England Ambulance Service “didn’t immediately contact the fire service”.
He continued: “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.
The mum tragically couldn’t be saved Credit: East Anglia News Service
Tributes flooded in for Saffron Credit: East Anglia News Service
“However, it’s not probable she would have done so.”
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.
This stemmed from a “muddled response” when the operator recorded Saffron was not near the water.
It meant emergency crews were delayed and the operator, who did not realise the tide was rising, even urged passers-by to stop trying to free Saffron.
A paramedic arrived on scene at 8.10pm, but the court heard that ambulance staff were reluctant to go over the sea wall and worked on Saffron only after the fire service carried her up.
One firefighter was heard swearing towards the medical team as they needed lifesaving equipment brought to them.
Paramedics were also accused of “winging it” while they struggled to coordinate on-site.
By the time emergency crews managed to free her 30 minutes after she first slipped, 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.
Locals likened the path to an “ice rink” as it was so slippery due to it being covered in algae.
The 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”.
The inquest heard she had been out at the Hatfield Hotel in Lowestoft “for a Jattvibeday 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”.
