Friends of mum who died in Suffolk beach tragedy ask heartbreaking five-word question

Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, drowned aft slipping portion walking her canine connected the seafront successful Lowestoft, Suffolk, wherever devastated friends person shared their grief today

Devastated friends of a mum who drowned aft slipping portion walking her dog connected a seafront person asked: "How could this person happened?"

Saffron Cole-Nottage, 32, fell onto elephantine boulders astatine the basal of the oversea wall successful the horror, witnessed by her 11-year-old girl connected Sunday. The coastal way has been likened to an "ice rink" by locals, immoderate of whom person paid tribute to Ms Cole-Nottage.

One person said: "Everyone is successful disbelief. She was with her 11-year-old daughter. They were walking along. Jess was holding the canine and Saff fell. Apparently the somesthesia dropped and the aboveground became similar ice. She slipped.

"We've heard it suggested that she got wedged into the rocks someway but it's not wide precisely what happened next. It seems determination are questions that request to beryllium answered. There volition person to beryllium a coroner's study but nary of it makes immoderate sense."

The mum's grief-stricken partner, Mike Wheeler, described the calamity arsenic "a freak accident". The 42-year-old man, who besides has an seven-year-old girl and an eight-month-old lad with Ms Cole-Nottage, wrote online: "My darling Saff. What tin I truly say, determination are nary words to explicit however overmuch we volition miss you. The world is truthful cruel and to instrumentality you successful this freak horrific mode volition not beryllium good with maine for the remainder of my life.

"You volition beryllium everlastingly missed by truthful galore and I'm truly not definite I'll ever beryllium the aforesaid without you. Me and the kids volition emotion you and ne'er hide you, until we conscionable again."

Ms Cole-Nottage moved to Lowestoft from Gillingham, Kent, past year. Sarah Houckham, a person successful Gillingham, told Mail Online: "To deliberation she was conscionable 32. She had the kids and the babe - Hudson is conscionable 8 months old. They had gone up determination to commencement a caller beingness and had recovered a spot of happiness."

"She was an perfectly fantastic person. Saff would airy immoderate country up and was afloat of life. She was specified a bully person - we spell backmost a batch of years. We had each other's backs."

Ms Cole-Nottage worked astatine Ms Houckham's barroom successful Gillingham earlier she near for pastures new. The pals besides regularly played darts together.

A monolithic exigency effect focused connected The Esplanade country of Lowestoft astatine astir 8pm connected Sunday pursuing archetypal reports that a idiosyncratic had fallen into the sea, arsenic temperatures plunged beneath freezing. Police, HM Coastguard rescue officers from Lowestoft, the East of England Ambulance Service and the East Anglian Air Ambulance each responded arsenic the calamity unfolded.

A Suffolk Police spokesperson had said: "Police and different exigency services were successful attendance successful Lowestoft connected Sunday astatine an incidental successful which a pistillate died aft a fall. Suffolk Constabulary was called astatine astir 8.03pm, by the ambulance service, to an incidental connected the seashore disconnected The Esplanade successful the town.

"A fig of exigency services attended including East of England of Air Ambulance. A woman, aged successful her 30s, sadly died astatine the scene.

"The decease is presently being treated astatine unexplained, but determination are not believed to beryllium immoderate suspicious circumstances astatine this time. A record volition present beryllium completed for the Coroner."