Miracle escape for mother and baby
Published: September 29, 2006
A MOTHER and her 15-month-old daughter escaped death by seconds after a giant slab of concrete fell to the ground from a Newport shop frontage, badly damaging her year-old car.
Faymarie Lamb, who co-owns The Tack Shack equestrian business at Whitepit Lane, was shutting up shop and loading her car when the freak accident occurred just after 5pm, on Friday.
The Lake mum-of-three and her baby, Niamh, escaped unscathed but her Kia car was hit by the slab and written off.
Following the accident Mrs Lamb was so traumatised she could not speak of what happened without bursting into tears. Unable to face work she went away for a few days in a bid to get over the shock. But her mother, Pamela Plenderleith, who set up the shop with her daughter in February, told the CP what had happened.
She said Mrs Lamb had been putting bags in the car when the baby called her and she went back inside. Seconds later the huge concrete facade fell to the floor.
Mrs Plenderleith, who estimated the slab was about 8m by 2.5m in size and 4ins deep, remained confused over what caused the fall, although heavy rain the previous day may have contributed.
“Faymarie is absolutely gutted. She bursts into tears every time she speaks about it. She is still in shock,” she said.
“She can’t stop thinking about what might have happened had she been there a few seconds earlier.
“I feel sick when I think about it. The consequences aren’t even worth thinking about.”
Mrs Plenderleith and her daughter lease the building from a landlord and will have to go through the insurance claim procedure before the damage can be fixed.
Late on Friday night, the shop, formerly garden equipment shop The Mowerman, was declared safe by surveyors and John Lutas, building control manager for the IW Council, and the family opened up for business as usual on Saturday.
Mrs Plenderleith added: “I cannot fault anyone over this. Everyone has been great to us. Our customers have phoned us and come in to make sure we’re OK. They have been nothing but loyal and supportive.”
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