A 15-year-old girl tragically died after being swept away by the tide while swimming on a full stomach of pizza and chips, prompting a warning from a senior coroner. Lucy Reed went swimming with a friend off Cleethorpes beach on June 24, 2023, after eating a substantial lunch.
Her mother, Liz, raised the alarm when Lucy failed to meet her at the pre-arranged meeting point. An urgent search and rescue operation was launched at 2pm, with emergency crews scouring the sea. Lucy was later located and rushed by air ambulance to Hull Royal Infirmary, where she was pronounced dead.
An inquest at Grimsby Town Hall heard that a post-mortem examination concluded Lucy died from asphyxia after inhaling gastric contents while struggling in deep water. Greater Lincolnshire senior coroner Paul Smith ruled her death as misadventure, noting that the tide was falling and the girls quickly found themselves out of their depth.
Mr Smith said: 'After she had been in the water for approximately 30 minutes, as Lucy tried to swim towards a point at which she could stand, she vomited, inhaling her gastric contents and losing consciousness. It was the unintended consequence of her swimming on a full stomach.'
The inquest heard that Lucy had travelled to Cleethorpes on a day trip with her mother. Despite her mother's advice to wait after eating pizza and chips, Lucy insisted on swimming before the coach departed. She entered the water near Cleethorpes Pier around 1pm.
When Lucy failed to meet her mother, a search began. The Coastguard was notified at 3.15pm, and the inshore lifeboat was deployed at 3.51pm. After over three hours of searching, a member of the public provided information that led to Lucy's discovery. The coroner emphasised the dangers of swimming after a large meal.
