Mothers pay tribute to ‘beautiful’ children who drowned in Bournemouth beach
The mothers of two children who drowned in Bournemouth have paid tributes to them at the start of an inquest into their deaths.
Sunnah Khan, 12, and Joe Abbess, 17, died after they were thought to have been caught in a riptide next to the pier at the Dorset seaside resort on 31 May last year.
Eight other people were treated by paramedics.
At Dorset Coroner’s Court in Bournemouth on Tuesday the families of the pair spoke about their loss.
Joe’s mother Vanessa said the family has been “devastated” at the loss of their “generous, loving, caring, hardworking and funny” son.
She said the trainee chef at Southampton Football Club was “a wonderful son, brother and friend and we are all devastated by his death, he is greatly missed”.
Joe Abbess. File pic: PA
In her statement to the inquest, Ms Abbess described receiving a call from her son’s friend, Nieve who “sounded very panicked and said there had been an incident in the sea involving Joe”.
“She [Nieve] said there were lifeguards and that they were trying to get Joe and Tom out of the water. She sounded hysterical,” she said.
Another friend, Anna, also called Ms Abbess to say “Joe was in the sea when the waves got crazy and that the alarm had been raised”.
Later a hospital consultant rang to tell her they “couldn’t do any more for Joe”. She added: “I was devastated and so shocked at this news, I fell to my knees and sobbed, I was on my own and utterly heartbroken”.
Stephanie Williams with her daughter Sunnah Khan. File pic: PA/Stephanie Williams
The inquest also heard from Stephanie Williams who described her daughter Sunnah as “kind, funny, reliable, smart and incredibly beautiful”.
“At her core Sunnah was kind, funny, reliable, smart and incredibly beautiful. Her smile lit up a room and her laugh was infectious.
“She cared about so many people and would do anything for her family and friends. She was a force of nature, to know her was to be truly lucky. We have missed her and will continue to miss her for the rest of our lives.”
Ms Abbess said the family was campaigning for improved education on sea safety in schools working with the RLSS UK (Royal Life Saving Society) in Joe and Sunnah’s memory.
“Joe always cared for others, so we want to do this for him,” adding that “we would like to see more education within schools about safe open-water swimming” and “knowledge of what to do in an emergency”.
Helicopters were deployed in the rescue operation in May 2023. File pic: Prof Dimitrios Buhalis
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On Monday, coroner Rachael Griffin ruled a pleasure cruiser was not involved in a “causative or contributory” way following the deaths.
Dorset Belle, a pleasure cruiser that ran trips from Bournemouth Pier, was impounded and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the deaths.
The cruise boat, Dorset Belle, was impounded in Dorset in June 2023. File pic: PA
But after consulting an expert, Dorset Police decided the boat’s movement did not contribute to creating dangerous sea conditions.
The force said the man would face no further action.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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