PRENTICE: ‘MUCH LOVED’ PENSIONER DIED ON HOLIDAY

A pensioner ‘dropped dead’ on holiday as he swam at a private beach in Egypt, an inquest heard today (Mon).

Stanley Prentice, 78, was enjoying a sun drenched Saga break on the shores of the Red Sea when his heart stopped as he splashed around in the water.

A lifeguard and several other tourists tried to revive him but he died ‘very quickly’, Southwark Coroner’s Court heard.

The ‘happy, much loved’ widower,, had joked to a cousin before he left that he would ‘not have got insurance’ if he had divulged all his health problems.

His GP, who was treating him for a long-standing irregular heartbeat, had given him the go-ahead for the trip on condition he make sure he continued his treatment once in Egypt, the inquest heard.

Hussein Sayed, resort beach manager for the four star Fort Arabesque Hotel in Makadi Bay, where Mr Prentice was a guest, told how he pulled him unconscious from the water.

The rescue bid, at around 3.30pm on February 14, 2010, took place in front of several other holidaymakers who rushed to help.

Mr Sayed said in a statement to the Saga health department prosecutor, who carried out an investigation into the death: ‘I was walking along the beach and I saw the tourist inside the water.

‘He was wearing diving goggles and doing surface diving.

‘He was standing in the water to his upper abdomen.

‘I saw him fall under the water.

‘I went towards him quickly, as did a number of hotel residents.

‘I did get him out and pull him onto the beach.

‘Hotel residents gave him first aid but he appeared to be dead already.

‘I don’t know why he fell but I think it was a heart attack. His face was blue.’

Another elderly British tourist James Wilson said: ‘Everyone tried to help him but he died on the spot.’

Mr Prentice’s elderly cousin Kenneth Porter, said he had seen the retired dock worker just before he set off on holiday – one of many he was trying to pack in.

He said: ‘As soon as I saw Stan I said he’s not very well – he’s got a heart problem.

‘His face was all flushed.

‘The doctor only gave him permission to go on the understanding that when he got to Egypt he’d immediately get his medication sorted.

‘He went with Saga but he didn’t insure with Saga. He insured with another company.’

The relative said Mr Prentice, of The Cottage, Railway Hill, Barham, Kent, had lost his wife Doreen just over a year before he died and whispered at the graveside: ‘I won’t be long, love.’

Since then he had sought ‘company all the time’, spending three weeks visiting Canada, and had ‘already booked a cruise up the Rhine’.

Mr Porter added tearfully: ‘The Saga rep said he was such a lovely man. Everyone who knew him loved him.’

Another family member David Bishop said he drove Mr Prentice to the airport on February 9, following a night of dancing and laughter at his partner’s home.

‘He spent the evening there having a meal,’ said Mr Bishop.

‘He was very red-faced and we were slightly concerned.

‘He said he’d had a bit of a scare the Sunday before.

‘He said he was going to Egypt not against medical advice but they were concerned.

‘He seemed to enjoy a dance with my partner later on in the evening.

‘He laughed about the insurance side of things.

‘He said if the insurance company had known all of his medical conditions he would not have got insurance.

‘But he seemed in very good spirits.’

The former dock superintendent had previously worked for the Port of London Authority in Felixstowe, and also in Saudi Arabia.

The inquest heard he was put on anti-clotting drugs after a minor stroke more than a decade before and was being treated for cardiac arrhythmia – an irregular heartbeat.

A post mortem back in the UK found the pensioner’s heart was quite healthy despite him having high cholesterol.

The cause of death given was ‘unascertained’ but Southwark Coroner Dr Andrew Harris said ‘on the balance of probabilities’ his arrhythmia must have been behind his sudden collapse.

This along with his otherwise lack of cardiac problems and the non-suspicious circumstances, led him to believe it was not a stroke or a heart attack.

‘He died very quickly indeed,’ said Dr Harris.

Clicking his fingers the coroner added: ‘He dropped dead like that.’

Verdict: Natural Causes.
ends