Dangers of the Beach

[Betty Boop]

Very sad story on the frontpage of our local Cornishman newspaper today, the beach is a wonderful place for children, but also very dangerous.



'TRAGEDY OF ABBEY'



The devastated parents of a three-year girl who died in a horrific accident at Upton Towans returned to the spot on Monday to pay moving tribute to their daughter.

Despite frantic efforts to rescue her, Abbie Livingstone-Nurse suffocated on Sunday after she became caught in a sand pit she and her older brother, Joe, had been digging with her family.

The tragedy was watched as it unfolded by hundreds of beachgoers, many of whom raced to help stepfather Ian Sayer save her.

He had already pulled out Joe, but Abbie was further down in the pit, which was rapidly collapsing over her.

The first lifeguard to reach them was Ben May, who desperately attempted to keep an airway free to Abbie. But, as they frantically fought to get her free, the pit collapsed further.

Penwith's chief lifeguard, Phil Drew, arrived within a few minutes of the pit collapsing, to find Ben still holding on to the little girl.

He told The Cornishman: "I saw Ben up to his shoulders in sand and I asked him where the casualty was - and he said 'underneath all of this'. At first I could not believe what I was seeing.

"There were already a lot of people trying to help, and I saw that Abbie was in a small pit about five foot deep.

"It was fairly narrow and she was wedged at the bottom. We were clearing sand out but for every scoop we got out another half would fall back in.

"By the end of it we probably moved two or three tons of sand. Ben still had hold of her hand but we couldn't get her out - the sand just really made it hard.

"By the end of it there must have been 1,000 people there. Some were trying to help, some were traumatised and crying.

"As soon as we got her head clear I gave her CPR with a paramedic but you could feel there was just too much sand on her. Because of where she was it was very difficult to get any kit down to help her.

"We knew we just had to get her clear, but by then she had stopped breathing."

Abbie was buried in the pit for half an hour despite the efforts of lifeguards, coastguards from Portreath, Camborne firefighters, Westcountry Ambulance Service and beachgoers.

When she was finally freed, Abbie was flown by a rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, but was pronounced dead at 5.50pm.

On Monday, the parents returned to the spot on the beach - where they were met by Ben May, to pay tribute to their 'darling Abbie Doodle-doo' and lay flowers.

"We are absolutely devastated - too devastated for words," said Pippa, 33, who is due to marry Ian next year. "She was our world, Abbie was fearless - she just wanted to try everything."

Just days before the tragedy, the family had spent time on Dartmoor before heading to Cornwall, where they were due to stay at a nearby holiday park until the weekend. Ian, a teacher, said: "Abbie was such a lovely little girl. She was always happy, smiling and open to everyone. She had a huge heart.

"What happened was a tragic accident which we will never forget or get over."

Local lifeguards have since tried to reassure the couple, who were also holidaying with Ian's son, Dominic, that no one is to blame for the tragedy.

"There was probably only a very small window of time at the beginning to save Abbie," said Mr Drew. "It was just so difficult to clear the sand away."

But, following Sunday's tragedy, coastguards issued a warning to parents against letting children dig large holes in sand.

A spokesman said: "We would advise people that sand is obviously unstable, so do not dig large holes in the sand, because of the danger of collapse.

"Make castles, dig small holes, make dams and enjoy yourselves - but not dig deep holes."

The family returned to their home in Goring-by-Sea, Sussex, later on Monday, where they were also visited by Abbie and Joe's father, Fraser Nurse.



Lifeguards on various beaches around the region have been warning people they have seen digging holes for their children only to be met with a torrent of abuse, with the holiday makers claiming the lifeguards are spoiling their fun.:-5

[abbey]

That was a terrible tragic accident betty,

i saw a picture of her in the nationals and she was such a pretty little thing.