Woman 'killed' by wooden gargoyle

Woman 'killed' by wooden gargoyle

A woman in the United Kingdom was killed in a freak accident in the garden involving a wooden gargoyle.

The wooden gargoyle fell on her, causing her to slip into an 18inch deep pond and drown.

Tragic Ann Newton, 58, was filling a bird feeder when she tumbled on wet grass.

As she fell her blouse hooked on the carved tree trunk, which toppled and trapped her under the water.

Despite a struggle, the woman, who had been drinking, could not get out.

Her partner of six months Norman Lunn returned home and found her face down.

Grieving Norman, 75, said: "It's such a bizarre death, it has broken my heart.

"Nobody liked the ornament, people kept telling me to get rid of it. If I had done she might have got out of the water.

"I had gone for a walk and when I got back I saw her face down in the pond. She must have gone out to fill the bird feeder and slipped.

"Her slippers were on the grass. She must have been kicking to try and get out. I tried to pull her out, but I couldn't."

He added: "I realised the wooden block was attached to her. When I did get her out, I phoned for an ambulance.

"It arrived in seven minutes but I realised from the blue colour they wouldn't be able to bring her round."

Lunn believes Ann must have had a drink of gin while he was out as toxicology tests found she was more than double the driving limit.

Despite the tragedy, Norman plans to keep the wooden carving which he bought in Scotland in 1996, two years after his first wife died. He said: "None of my friends liked it, but I brought it all the way from Scotland and it was a lot of money, so I wasn't going to get rid of it.

"Ann didn't like it when she saw it - she didn't like his face. She'd say, 'It's looking at me funny'.

"There's nothing I can do about it now - I'm keeping it ! in the g arden. If I went past and kicked it, it would just hurt my toe."
Image source from The SunSource: www.thesun.co.uk
Published May 13 2011