An inquest has heard of how a major rescue operation was launched in an attempt to save a “kind-hearted” mum who drowned in New Brighton.
Christine Robinson, 57, from Wirral, died on the afternoon of Monday, July 6 2020 after she was swept into the water along King's Parade, New Brighton.
She had been walking her pet dog with her son Niall, when the dog was swept into the River Mersey while on a slipway. Both Christine and Niall got into difficulty while trying to reach the dog.
The man and the dog were rescued from the water during the major operation involving the RNLI, Coastguard, Merseyside Police and North West Ambulance Service. But despite the efforts of the emergency services and passers-by, Ms Robinson was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
At the inquest into her death at Liverpool coroners' court today (Wednesday), Richard Jones, operations manager at Holyhead Coastguard, was asked about a three-minute gap between the emergency call coming in, and a rescue crew being assigned to the job.
Joseph Hart, assistant coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, said: "Three minutes is a long time."
Mr Jones assigned the New Brighton inshore lifeboat to deal with the incident, even though the crew had already launched and were on their way to the scene even before the coastguard alerted them.
He said there were a number of reasons for the three-minute time lag, which included dealing with other incoming calls, "grading" the incident, and analysing the information, such as weather conditions at the time.
He said: "I'm trying to understand what's happening in those three minutes. There are a number of assessments that have to be made before you send in 'an asset' to try and effect a rescue."
A number of other rescue vessels were also available at the time, including the Marine Fire 1 boat provided by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, based at the Pier Head landing stage and operated by a full-time three-man crew.
However Mr Jones said the New Brighton lifeboat was considered more suitable because it was nearer, and it was also a bigger boat. The weather conditions were described as "challenging" at the time.
Tragically, Ms Robinson's body was recovered from rocks around 100 yards away from New Brighton promenade. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following her death, her family released an emotional tribute describing her as a "kind hearted" person who had "a positive impact on every person's life".
“There are no words that can describe the emptiness we are all feeling following the tragic loss of our mum,” it said.
"We can't even begin to describe what type of person she was, she had such a positive impact on every person's life she entered and was so caring and kind hearted.”
The mum of two, who was originally from the North East, had been working as a pharmacy technician for Boots in Chester.
