A DEVOTED mother who died trying to help her son during an incident on the River Mersey was praised for “incredible bravery” as an inquest into the tragedy concluded.

Christine Robinson, 57, from Eastham, a pharmacy technician at Boots in Chester, tragically lost her life after being swept into the river off Kings Parade in New Brighton on Monday July 6, 2020.

She had been walking her pet dog with son Niall, when the dog was swept into the River Mersey while on a slipway.

Niall had got into difficulty while trying to reach the dog. Christine had gone in to the water to try to help, but was swept into the river.

Niall and the dog were rescued from the water during a major operation involving the RNLI, Coastguard, Merseyside Police and North West Ambulance Service.

New Brighton Lifeboat crew was alerted at 12.22pm and, after assessing which lifeboat would be suitable, set out in their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.

Richard Jones, operations manager at Holyhead Coastguard, had been asked about a three-minute gap between the emergency call coming in, and a rescue crew being assigned to the job.

He said there were a number of reasons for the delay, which included dealing with other incoming calls, "grading" the incident, and analysing the information, such as weather conditions at the time.

A number of other rescue vessels were also available at the time, including the Marine Fire 1 boat provided by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, based at the Pier Head landing stage and operated by a full-time three-man crew.

However Mr Jones said the New Brighton lifeboat was considered more suitable because it was nearer, and it was also a bigger boat. The weather conditions were described as "challenging" at the time.

Joseph Hart, assistant coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, said: "There were a number of assessments that had to be made to ascertain the most capable asset to be deployed in the swiftest possible time.

"There were delays to appraise the situation, but these arose out of a genuine and reasonable need to assess the situation and send the most appropriate asset to the scene."

Mrs Robinson was later pronounced dead at the scene on nearby rocks by paramedics. A post-mortem concluded the cause of death as drowning.

Recording a narrative verdict following the inquest at Gerard Majella Court in Liverpool this morning, Joseph Hart, assistant coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, said: "Mrs Robinson was incredibly brave trying to her son.

"She died despite the best efforts of emergency services to try to save her."

In a statement after the tragedy, Mrs Robinson's family - who did not attend the hearing - said: "There are no words that can describe the emptiness we are all feeling following the tragic loss of our mum.

"Christine sadly died while walking her pet dog with her son Niall. The dog was swept into the River Mersey on a slipway at New Brighton, and both Christine and Niall got into difficulty while trying to reach the dog.

"All three were removed from the water by emergency services, but despite the efforts of paramedics, Christine was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We can't even begin to describe what type of person she was, she had such a positive impact on every person's life she entered and was so caring and kind hearted.

"Her smile could brighten up anyone's day."

Her family's statement continued: "If she wasn't working or with her friends and family she could always be found in the garden with our dog trying to tidy up.

"She was a beloved partner, loving mother and heartwarming friend.

"The amount of support we have received from friends at Boots Chester where she worked as a pharmacy technician has been overwhelming and we have just been shocked by how big a circle of friends our mum had.

"The loss of our mum has been felt far and wide by our family and friends in the North East, where she is from.

"This is just another bright aspect of our mum's life that no matter how far she was from friends or family she was always there for people in any way she could be.

"The love and kindness that our mum showed us will help us to find strength in these differcult times.

"We'd also like to send a heartfelt thank you to the RNLI, Coastguard, Police and Ambulance service for their hard work during this tragic event."