Former professional rugby player, 55, died after he was swept out to sea when he dived in to save his teenage son and daughter at a Haven Holidays park in Yorkshire, inquest hears
- David Fell was on holiday with his family in Filey, North Yorkshire last summer
- He sprung into action after spotting his teenage son and daughter in difficulty
- His widow said he wouldn’t have gone in if there were signs warning of rip tides
A former professional rugby player died after he was swept out to sea when he dived in to save his children at a Haven Holidays park, an inquest heard.
David Fell, 55, was on a family holiday when he sprung into action after spotting his teenage son and daughter getting into difficulty in the water near Filey, North Yorkshire.
But as he went out to help, David was swept out to sea by a rip tide.
The RNLI pulled him from the water and tried to revive him through CPR but an inquest heard he couldn’t be saved.
A former professional rugby player died after he was swept out to sea when he dived in to save his children at a Haven Holidays park, an inquest heard
David Fell, 55, was on a family holiday when he sprung into action after spotting his teenage son and daughter getting into difficulty in the water near Filey, North Yorkshire
David, who played professional rugby league for Rochdale and Salford in the 1980s, was on a family break at Reighton Gap beach, when tragedy struck on July 22.
The coroner heard several people also went into the water and managed to rescue his two children.
His daughter was treated in ITU in hospital and is still suffering as a result of her injuries.
Speaking on the opening day of the inquest on Monday, David’s widow Fiona said they wouldn’t have gone in the water if there were signs warning of rip tides on the beach, which is next to Reighton Sands Holiday Park.
Bourne Leisure, which owns the company Haven Holidays that runs the holiday park, disputed her claim and said there are a number of warning signs.
The inquest heard there are three signs that warn people ‘water is unpredictable’ and explain what they should do if someone gets into difficulty.
But there are no signs warning people specifically about rip tides, no lifeguards and no flag warning system, it was told.
Fiona said: ‘My family and I are deeply shocked and upset by all that has happened. I have had to face the realisation that I lost my husband but could have also lost my children.
‘I can say that there were definitely no warning signs, flags, lifebuoys or any lifeguards on duty on the beach that day.
‘I am very diligent with regards to looking for these things, as my son suffers with epilepsy.
‘If I’d known the potential dangers of ‘rip tides’ and currents I would have never allowed them to go into the sea.
‘I feel adequate measures must be put in place immediately in order to prevent another family from grieving forever. Just as we were.
‘We, as a family, feel this has been a catastrophic accident waiting to happen.’
David, who played professional rugby league for Rochdale and Salford in the 1980s, was on a family break at Reighton Gap beach, when tragedy struck on July 22
The RNLI pulled him from the water and tried to revive him through CPR but an inquest heard the former player (pictured fourth from the left on the bottom row) couldn’t be saved
Fiona also said her daughter still requires treatment after suffering an abdominal aortic rupture during the incident.
The inquest heard rescuers managed to pull her son and daughter to safety using paddleboards and a man on the beach used a drone to try to locate her husband, before the RNLI crew arrived.
Jenna Free told the inquest: ‘We looked and we looked, but couldn’t see anything, it felt like ages.
‘The lifeguard boat came and it started to come towards us. I directed them up to the sky, where my husband’s drone was, so they had a kind of an idea of where to go.’
In a statement released after the incident, the RNLI said the crew were on scene ‘very quickly’ as they were preparing to take part in an exercise nearby when the call came in.
David was transferred to paramedics in Filey ‘at top speed by boat’ but pronounced dead later that day.
Born in Wigan, David represented Lancashire in both codes of rugby, and was part of the Salford team that won the second division championship in 1991.
Salford’s director of rugby and operations Ian Blease, a former teammate of David, said after his death: ‘David was a great guy, and a really talented rugby player.
‘David was the sort of person who fitted in so well with the group of players here and we all became an especially close-knit team.’
The inquest, which is expected to last two days, continues.
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