Mum who drowned with head stuck in rocks ‘may have survived’ if fire service called sooner

Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, was with her daughter walking their dog at the seafront in the town when she fell on February 2 last year (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

A mum who drowned after getting stuck headfirst in seaside rocks as the tide came in might have been saved if the ambulance service had alerted the fire service more quickly, a coroner has said.

Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, was with her daughter walking their dog at the seafront in the town when she fell on February 2 last year.

A young girl called 999 at 7.52pm and within the first 30 seconds of the call explained to an ambulance service call handler that she was ‘caught head down in the rock’ by the ‘seafront’.

The caller made reference to Saffron ‘screaming’ at 7.57pm and 7.58pm before stating a miunte later that she was ‘in the water now’.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was the last of the four emergency services to be notified, with the first communication to the fire service at 8.04pm.

Firefighters were 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 declared dead at 8.44pm.

Flowers left on the promenade at Lowestoft, Suffolk, after Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, became trapped on the sea defence rocks below and drowned (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

Professor Richard Lyon, a consultant in emergency medicine, previously told the inquest that a clock should start on 30 minutes of rescue efforts once a responder arrives on scene and confirms a person is submerged.

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

The coroner, recording a narrative conclusion, said Saffron ‘died from drowning which has come about due to accidental circumstances’.

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.

‘However, it’s not probable she would have done so.’

He described Saffron, who worked as a cleaner, as a ‘loving mother completely devoted to her children’.

The coroner noted that she ‘had been drinking’ on the day of the accident.

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.

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