A Bridgwater lady who went to a wassailing event near Highbridge to celebrate her birthday tragically drowned in a water-filled drainage ditch, an inquest has heard this week.
Elaine Williams was almost three times the legal drink drive limit when she died in a rhyne at Rich’s Cider Farm in Watchfield in January.
This week’s inquest hearing was told that Elaine, 54, of Halesleigh Road in Bridgwater, had been missing for an hour after going to smoke a cigarette.
Elaine, who trained as a nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, was discovered face down in the ditch and was sadly declared dead at the scene by an ambulance crew on the night of January 18th, 2020.
A Home Office pathologist confirmed she died from drowning, with toxicology tests revealing 229mg of alcohol in her blood.
Tony Williams, Senior Somerset Coroner, recorded a conclusion of an accidental death.
