Mother who died on boating holiday ‘may not have fallen if rail had been fitted’

A Mother-of-three who fell from a hire boat, got caught in the propeller and drowned, would have been unlikely to have fallen if an adequate guardrail had been fitted, an investigation has found.

Laura Perry was holidaying on the Norfolk Broads as part of a group of nine, including her partner, who was the nominated skipper, and their three sons aged 16, 14 and four. Her mother and father, her sister, who was the driver, and her 16-year-old niece were also in the group on the 12.8-metre motor cruiser Diamond Emblem 1.

Ms Perry fell overboard from the rear deck when the boat’s stern made hard contact against the embankment wall opposite Great Yarmouth Yacht Station on the River Bure, a Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report said.

It happened on the third day of their five-day holiday, at 1.18pm on August 19 2020.

“She became entangled in a length of rope and the propeller, suffering multiple injuries that resulted in her drowning,” the report said.

“It is likely that Laura would have been prevented from falling into the water if Diamond Emblem 1 had been fitted with an adequate guardrail around its stern.

In October 2020, the chief inspector of marine accidents urgently recommended a strengthening of requirements for person overboard prevention, handover procedures and engine control systems to the Association of Inland Navigation Authorities.

Recommendations were made around issues including handover to the owner of the hire boat, and a series of recommendations were made to the Broads Authority.