A Suffolk woman who drowned after becoming stuck headfirst in sea defence rocks might have been saved if the ambulance service had alerted the fire service more promptly, a coroner has concluded.
Incident Details
Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, was walking the family dog with her daughter along the seafront in Lowestoft, Suffolk, when she fell as the tide was coming in on 2 February 2025. A young girl called 999 at 7:52 PM and within the first 30 seconds told the ambulance call handler that Cole-Nottage was “caught head down in the rock” by the seafront.
At 7:57 PM and 7:58 PM, the caller reported that Cole-Nottage was “screaming,” and a minute later stated 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 them occurring at 8:04 PM.
Response Timeline
Firefighters arrived at the scene at 8:22 PM and freed Cole-Nottage in less than 30 seconds after placing hands on her at 8:29 PM. Despite these efforts, Cole-Nottage, a cleaner, was declared dead at 8:44 PM.
The Suffolk area coroner, Darren Stewart, recording a narrative conclusion, stated that 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.”
Coroner’s Findings
Stewart added: “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.”
The coroner announced he would write to the chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service and the head of NHS England, raising concerns about the time taken by the ambulance service to identify the incident as a rescue during the 999 call and to relay that information to the fire service.
Stewart also expressed concern over a “failure” to follow guidelines from the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee, which recommend treating a submerged person as a rescue for a minimum of 30 minutes. He said the clock should start when a first responder arrives and confirms submersion, and that the first paramedic on scene made a “premature decision to consider Saffron to be deceased.”
Call Handler Advice
Earlier in Friday’s hearing, Stewart revealed that the 999 call handler told the caller not to attempt a rescue or move Cole-Nottage after the caller reported she was in the water. He described this as “an extraordinary message to pass on regarding someone who had just been communicated to be trapped and at risk of drowning.” He attributed the advice to “slavish adherence to the entrapment protocol,” which was still being followed before later switching to a drowning protocol.
