A WOMAN was crushed to death between a narrow boat and the side of a canal after she fell into the water.
Margaret Billings, 78, became trapped between the narrow boat and the quayside of Kennet and Avon Canal in Devizes, Wiltshire on June 27 last year.
Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court heard she died soon after becoming stuck, despite being rescued from the water.
In a written statement, husband Michael told the inquest he had been married to Margaret for 51 years and they had been on many boating holidays together.
Margaret, a retired chemist and and keen gardener, had been on a week’s holiday with friends and Michael when tragedy struck.
They had been mooring up the boat in Devizes when Margaret fell into the canal, Michael said.
He recalled telling her to wait after she appeared to try and step off the boat before it had docked closer to the bank.
Michael said: “The next thing I heard was a cry and I saw a splash in the water.
“I did not see her leave contact with the boat and didn’t know what was going on.”
“I looked over the boat to see Margaret facing me in the water and the boat closing in to the bank rapidly. There was nothing I could do.”
Margaret died shortly after falling into the water on the Kennet and Avon Canal[/caption]
