Killed by the gargoyle she hated: Teacher drowned in an 18-inch pond after getting trapped under water by a garden statue



Great loss: Ann Newton was a Guide leader and her funeral was attended by hundreds

A former teacher drowned in just over a foot of water after she was pinned down by a fallen garden statue.

Ann Newton had gone into the garden in her slippers to feed the birds when she tripped and fell into the shallow pond, an inquest heard.



The 58-year-old's blouse became hooked on an ornamental wooden carved tree trunk as she filled a bird feeder.

The wooden post then toppled, fell on top of her and dragged her under the 18inches of water.

She drowned after she was unable to pull herself free and was discovered by her partner, Norman Lunn, when he returned from a walk on February 3.

An inquest heard how the pond at her home in Penshaw, near Sunderland, was just four feet by three feet and only one-and-a-half feet deep.

Mr Lunn, 75, said: 'It's such a bizarre death, it has broken my heart.'

Miss Newton was pronounced dead after being found face-down in the back garden pond.



Grief-stricken Mr Lunn told the inquest how he had struggled in vain to save her.

Mr Lunn said he bought the statue as a souvenir during a trip to Scotland and now plans to replace it in his garden.

He said: 'Nobody liked the ornament, people kept telling me to get rid of it. If I had done she might have got out of the water.'

Tragedy: Former teacher Ann Newton died when she became entangled with a wooden garden statue at her home in Penshaw, near Sunderland

Mr Lunn had gone for a walk on the afternoon of the accident, leaving his partner at home doing a crossword.

When he returned an hour later he found Miss Newton gone, and when he looked outside, saw her face down in the pond in the back garden.

'She must have gone out to fill the bird feeder and slipped,' he said.

'Her slippers were in the grass. She must have been kicking to try and get out. I tried to pull her out, but I couldn't.

'I realised the wooden block was attached to her. When I did get her out, I phoned for an ambulance.



'It arrived in seven minutes but I realised from the blue colour they wouldn't be able to bring her round.'

Scene of the tragedy: Norman Lunn, 75, standing by the tiny pond where his partner Ann died

Mr Lunn said his partner, who had moved in with him only six months earlier, must have hit the trunk as she fell. It shattered, with the large chunk hooking on to her and dragging her further down into the water.

He added: 'Ann didn't like it when she saw it, she didn't like his face. She would say: "It's looking at me funny".

'There's nothing I can do about it now, I'm keeping it in the garden. If I went past and kicked it, it would just hurt my toe.'



Dr Hugh Cochrane, a pathologist at Sunderland Royal Hospital, found little evidence to determine a cause of death during the inquest at the Regus Centre in Doxford Park.



He said Miss Newton had abrasions to her legs and her chest had injuries which could be linked to resuscitation attempts.



He added that drowning was difficult to determine under post-mortem examinations, but it was probably the cause of death on the balance of probabilities.



Dr Cochrane said toxicology tests found 186mg of alcohol per 100ml of Miss Newton's blood - just over twice the drink-drive limit of 80mg per 100ml.



He said this was not a large amount, but enough to cause an impairment. Mr Lunn said his partner must have had a gin and tonic while he was out.



Detective Sergeant Les Goodliff of Sunderland CID, based at Houghton Police Station, confirmed neither Miss Newton nor Mr Lunn had any injuries which suggested a struggle had taken place.

Miss Newton served as a Guide Leader for the 2nd Chester-le-Street and Mr Lunn said she also served as a district commissioner for the Guiding Association.



'Her popularity was shown by the turnout a the crematorium, it was packed,' Mr Lunn said.



'There were a lot of teachers there, and people from the Guides.'

The couple first met in 1973 when they both worked at Pelton Roseburry School. Mr Lunn left, but the pair met up again in 1994 when his wife died of cancer.



Sunderland Coroner Derek Winter recorded a verdict of accidental death, citing the cause as drowning.

