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Mum might have survived drowning if not for emergency service delay, inquest hears

Saffron Cole-Nottage fell headfirst into sea defence rocks as the tide was coming in

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A "loving mother" might have survived a horrific drowning if not for a delay in the emergency service response. An inquest heard that if ambulance service had alerted the fire service more quickly, it's "possible" she might have survived.

Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, was walking her dog with her daughter along The Esplanade in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on February 2 last year. The Mirror reports how she fell into sea defence rocks and became stuck headfirst as the tide came in.

A girl called 999 at 7.52pm and, within the first 30 seconds of the call, told an ambulance service call handler that Ms Cole-Nottage was "caught head down in the rock" by the "seafront". At 7.57pm and 7.58pm, the caller referred to Ms Cole-Nottage "screaming", before saying 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 alerted, with the first contact to the fire service made at 8.04pm. Firefighters arrived at 8.22pm and freed Ms Cole-Nottage in "less than half a minute" after first hands were placed on her at 8.29pm, Suffolk area coroner Darren Stewart said.

She was declared dead at 8.44pm.

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Recording a narrative conclusion on Friday, the coroner said Ms Cole-Nottage "died from drowning which has come about due to accidental circumstances". He said the East of England Ambulance Service "didnt immediately contact the fire service".

He continued: "Had the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service been immediately alerted to the incident its possible that Saffron would have been extricated from the rocks sooner and survived. However, it's not probable she would have done so."

He described Ms Cole-Nottage, who worked as a cleaner, as a "loving mother completely devoted to her children". The coroner noted that Ms Cole-Nottage "had been drinking" on the day of the accident.

The inquest previously heard that rescue efforts to try to save Ms Cole-Nottage did not follow guidance. Professor Richard Lyon, a consultant in emergency medicine, told the inquest on Tuesday that a "clock" should start on 30 minutes of rescue efforts once a responder arrives at the scene and confirms a person is submerged.

Prof Lyon, who holds roles with NHS Scotland and the University of Surrey, said: "I do not think the guidance was followed in this case."

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He said: "The guidance is quite clear that the clock starts when the responder arrives on scene and submersion is confirmed." He questioned "how sure the responders could be that Saffron was actually confirmed submerged when that decision [at 8.13pm] seemed to have been made from above the railings when she [Ms Cole-Nottage] was down in a difficult situation".

Prof Lyon said it was "important to have an absolute time that everyone is working to and that time is sure and thats definite". "Thats why the guidance is very clear that the time should be from the arrival of the first rescuer - theres no ambiguity about that time," he said. "The whole purpose of the guideline is to maximise the chance of a lifesaving rescue."

The inquest also heard that two men had tried to pull Ms Cole-Nottage out by her legs, which were the only part of her body visible. Ian Jones described her as "screaming and panicking", while Alex Singleton-Dent said it had "felt like ages" before emergency services arrived.

Prof Lyon estimated Ms Cole-Nottages window for "probable survival" was around five minutes after submersion began. He added that being upside down would have made breathing "harder".

The inquest was earlier told that a level of 271 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood was recorded for Ms Cole-Nottage. The legal limit for driving in England is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. Ms Cole-Nottage's partner, Michael Wheeler, said in a statement read to the court that she had gone for a meal earlier in the day. He did not believe she was drunk and said she was not slurring her words when she set off on the walk.

Prof Lyon said the effect of the alcohol is "most relevant in terms of it would make her more likely to stumble, more likely to trip". He said Ms Cole-Nottages "protective reflex would have been diminished", meaning she may not have put an arm out as she fell. "When she was between the rocks her ability to move and try to push herself out would have been impaired as well," he said.

Prof Lyon said: "For Saffron to have had a probable survival, she would have needed to be rescued within five minutes of submersion and, if required, for CPR to start within that time."

He said that "survival was possible up until about the 15-minute mark", but she may have sustained a brain injury. "In my opinion, beyond 25 minutes, survival would not have been possible," he said. "I should stress, all of these numbers are a best possible expert opinion," he added.

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