Plymouth mum's tragic words at drowning inquest

She recalled the moment she realised she could no longer see her son

The mother of a young boy who tragically drowned at a holiday park pool just hours after the family's arrival has shared the heart-wrenching moment she realised she could no longer see her son.

Ferzane Caliskan told an inquest into the death of her five-year-old son Robin, at the Atlantic Reach holiday camp on July 31 last year, how she initially believed her son was with his father when she could no longer spot him through the frosted glass separating the adult and baby pools at the site.

Earlier, the inquest into the youngster's death heard how Cemal and Ferzane Caliskan and their two children - Robin and six-month-old Renas - had opted for a three-night break in Cornwall.

The family, originally hailing from Turkey, were living in the Plymouth area at the time. They arrived at the holiday park at 2pm on August 31 last year, during the summer holidays, and after setting up their tent, decided to take a dip in the pool.

Echoing her husband's earlier statement to the inquest jury in Truro, she mentioned that they assumed the pool would be supervised by lifeguards as the photos they had seen on social media and Atlantic Reach's own website while booking their three-night stay depicted lifeguards, reports Cornwall Live.

She also stated that she did not notice any signs around the changing rooms, showers and pool area indicating the absence of lifeguards.

During a statement delivered in court today (Tuesday, September 17), Josh Allen, who was an outdoor activities instructor at the holiday park on the incident day, informed the inquest that as per the pool's size and depth, lifeguards were not deemed necessary. He confirmed that signs were clearly displayed indicating there were no lifeguards and that there were additional advisories stating that all pool users should be able to swim and children had to be supervised by an adult.

He told the inquest: "It was a normal day. The pool was busy but not at capacity. At about 5pm a boy came in shouting that someone was drowning. I ran back and saw that two women had lifted a boy out of the water. He was unresponsive and as a qualified first aider I started CPR."

Wayne Adams, a member of the public, said the Caliskan family had been in the baby pool but had not realised that Robin was out of their sight. He observed that the frosted glass separating the baby and adult pools could obstruct the view, adding: "The parents would have seen the little boy if they had been watching him. I don't think they realised he was in the big pool."

Through an interpreter, Mrs Caliskan said she had only realized Robin was gone when taking a photo of the family in the baby pool.

She said: "I didn't see Robin follow me to the big pool. I didn't see Robin. From the moment I went into the big pool I was trying to look through the frosted glass to see how they were all doing."

"I thought they were all together. I was convinced Robin was with Cemal in the baby pool. I didn't know he wasn't there. Looking through the frosted glass made me see things different."

"I went to take a picture in the baby pool but I didn't see Robin in the frame. I realised that the child in the baby pool was not Robin. I asked my husband where he was and that's when we noticed he was not with us."

The inquest was told that Robin was spotted face down at the bottom of the adult pool. He was pulled out of the water by two women before Mr Allen took over and an off-duty police officer who was relaxing at the pool with his own family also took over with CPR until paramedics arrived. All said there was signage in place warning that no lifeguard were on duty.

The inquest continues.