Grace Keeling, Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe sadly died in the tragic incident in January
Grace Keeling, Sarah Keeling, and Mark Ratcliffe sadly died in the tragedy in Withernsea(Image: Humberside Police)
An inquest heard warm tributes to a mother, daughter and the heroic man who tried to rescue them from the sea at Withernsea. Two friends were taking photos and videos of each other with sea spray splashing over when a 12ft wave tragically swept one of them out to sea.
Grace Keeling, 15, was on a day trip with her mother, pet dog and a friend on January 2. Her mother Sarah Keeling, 45, walked the dog on the prom as the girls took photos on concrete steps to the beach. As the girls took “one last photograph” around 3pm, a wave swept the teenager away. Mum Sarah went into the water in an attempt to save her daughter and tragically drowned.
Mark Ratcliffe, 67, a retired toolmaker, was walking with his wife and grandson and went into the treacherous water to save the mother and daughter. He was sadly later found dead.
At Hull and East Riding coroner’s court at Guildhall, Hull, on Thursday, area coroner Lorraine Harris said the actions of Mr Ratcliffe were “selfless and brave”. She said the mother had “no thought for herself and committed an act of a parent trying to do anything to help her daughter in treacherous waters”.
Miss Harris also commended other members of the public, some of whom also entered the dangerous water without regard for their own safety in order to try and save the daughter and her mother. She also praised the emergency services and rescuers for their bravery and skill.
The body of Grace, of Sutton-on-Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, was discovered nearly two weeks later over a mile away along the Withernsea shore. A large-scale engineering operation was carried out in order to retrieve the teenager’s body from rock sea defences.
Grace died from immersion in cold water, a post mortem examination revealed. Mark died from drowning and chest injuries and Sarah died from drowning and head and neck injuries after both had been pushed against the sea wall of Withernsea promenade.
‘The grandchildren will grow up knowing their grandad was a hero’
Miss Harris said everyone involved in the incident had been “deeply moved by the tragic set of circumstances”. Mr Ratcliffe was described as a strong swimmer and devoted to his family.
His wife, Carol, described how they saw people on the promenade trying to get life rings out to the teenager and her mother. She described how he raced to the slipway to help and went into the water. However, another large wave swept him away.
She said their grandson kept asking if his grandfather was coming out of the sea. “The grandchildren will grow up knowing their grandad was a hero,” she said.
Jonathan Keeling described his wife Sarah, who worked for a school supply firm and travelled extensively abroad, as “bubbly, incredibly caring and loved to make a fuss of everyone.” He said: “She lived life to the full.”
He had stayed at home while his wife and daughter Grace and a friend took the pet dog out for the day and they decided to travel to a beach. The weather conditions were cold and the tide was in when they arrived at Withernsea, so they went for a meal before returning to the beach at 3pm.
He received a call from Grace’s friend telling him of the tragedy and that he needed to travel to Withernsea. He said his daughter Grace was an A* pupil and was expected to do well in her GCSEs on her path to become an event manager or entertainment manager.
She loved dancing and her BMX cycling. Grace had completed her Duke of Edinburgh bronze award and was set to take part in the silver award.
She loved her family and grandparents and was part of a “close family and was always dancing”. “Everyone loved being around her,” Mr Keeling said.
The father recalled the moment police contacted him to say Grace had been found. “It was the news I needed to hear. I am going to miss her and my wife terribly. Life will never be the same again,” he said in a statement read at the inquest.
Grace’s friend told of the fun they shared visiting Withernsea and how they had taken turns to take photos on the stairway with the sea spray splashing them. She took a few steps back up the stairway to take “one last photo” of Grace holding on to the railings with her arms outstretched but turned around to see Grace missing.
“It happened in a split second. In a blink she was gone. The sea went rough in the space of a minute. I was screaming for help,” she told in a statement read at the inquest.
Former fisherman Barry Appleby said he watched the rough sea from his car parked nearby and noticed the girls on the stairway.
“I sounded my horn and was about to go down to them,” he said. “Then a 12-foot wave took her out to sea. I heard her scream.”
He went to the slipway and saw the mother run past him. He said he advised her not to go in. “Either she did not hear me or chose not to listen,” he said in a statement.
He said, moments later, he saw her being pushed against the sea wall by the power of the waves.
PC Faye Baskill told the inquest CCTV footage captured the moment the girls were taking photographs on the concrete steps before a large wave pulled Grace into the sea. “She (Grace) had her back to the sea and would have been totally unaware of that large wave,” she said.
The officer told how help arrived within seconds with members of the public throwing life rings into the water and some going into the water. A man went in but injured his ribs and had to be rescued from the water.
A member of staff at Castle Cafe gathered life rings to assist in the rescue. Another member of the public threw a life ring but was swept into the water by another wave. He was rescued. PC Baskill said he described the strength of the wave as “overwhelming” before being rescued by the woman from the café.
Mr Ratcliffe was recovered from the sea, but was tragically pronounced dead. At around 8pm, Mrs Keeling was recovered.
The coroner said: “Mr Ratcliffe put his own life at risk in an utterly selfless act of bravery to help.” She said there had been extensive searches carried out.
PC Briskell said around 100 Humberside Police officers took part in the search and rescue operation, three fire crews, Yorkshire Ambulance crews, and RNLI volunteers and Coastguard rescuers.
The promenade was closed to the public due to the volume of sea water coming over the prom with rocks and grit. She said the search operation went on for 13 days until Grace was found.
The officer said: “Everyone involved in the search and the recovery were incredibly effective and worked tirelessly to get Grace back to her dad.” The coroner concluded Mr Ratcliffe died committing an heroic act and died in the pursuit of trying to save others.
She concluded Sarah Keeling had entered the waters, with no thought for her own wellbeing, the act of a parent trying to do anything to help her daughter. She said: “Despite being a good swimmer, evidence was heard she was very quickly swept against the sea wall where she suffered injuries and drowned.”
Miss Harris said: “Grace and her friend were doing what all teenage girls do, having fun and taking photos. Without appreciating the danger of going so close to the waters edge, Grace stood with her back to the sea.
“What happened next was so quick that she would not have had any time to help herself. She was engulfed by a wave and taken out to sea.” The coroner concluded the teenager’s death was by misadventure.
She commended the bravery, skill and tireless dedication of the people who firstly located her and “then did everything in their power to recover her”.
The coroner described Mr Ratcliffe as “an amazing man” who put his own safety at risk to help others. She said she hoped his family and Mr Keeling will remember the “love, laughter and fun” of their loved ones.
She added it was “cruel” for Mr Keeling to lose his “vivacious” wife and daughter in such circumstances.
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