Overview
- The inquest into Saffron Cole-Nottage’s February 2025 drowning heard that ambulance and coastguard staff did not go down to her level because they were not wearing protective equipment.
- Fire crews reached the Esplanade at about 8:22pm and pulled her free within minutes before starting CPR, yet she had already been submerged and could not be saved.
- Control-room staff said ambulance callers alerted fire control without directly asking for attendance, which left the fire service unsure if it was being requested to go.
- A volunteer coastguard testified that police and paramedics had declared Recognition of Life Extinct, a formal judgment that a person is dead, as firefighters moved to attempt a rescue.
- Firefighters told the court the entrapment looked survivable in cold conditions and that freeing her was a simple manual move, raising questions about PPE policies, training, and call-handling now under the coroner’s review.