A mum who fell 40ft into a 'death trap' Wigan quarry has warned that the death of a teenage boy over the weekend could have been prevented. Natalie Prescott, 32, from Wigan, 'almost died' a decade ago after falling into Appley Bridge quarry - which has cost three lives in 23 years.
The mum-of-three, who was told she would never walk again after the incident, has said the only solution is to "drain and fill up" the site. She added that the weekend's fatal incident was 'preventable' and said: "It's a death trap and you're going to lose your life going in there."
She herself came close to losing her life on a day she's permanently reminded of due to a scar that covers her legs. After being airlifted to Preston Hospital's trauma unit, the then 23-year-old was told she would never walk again. As a result of the horror fall, she had lost her knee and "shattered" her ankle, Lancs Live reports.
READ MORE Heartbroken family of teen who died in quarry tragedy pay tribute to 'one-in-a-million son'
On the May bank holiday weekend in 2012, Natalie had gone to the Appley Bridge quarry with some friends. She explained that she was "looking over" the top of the quarry in an attempt to dive off.
After reaching the jumping point, she decided it was too high. Then, she slipped off the edge where she hit the overhanging cliff below before hitting the water.
"I remember being dragged out onto the bank, feeling cold, an alarm going off and then nothing," Natalie explains, "It was a man who told me, you were dead, we all thought you were dead."
At the time, Natalie's mum Sue, now 55, had owned stables close to Appley Bridge quarry and had seen an air ambulance head over the farm. She says she had no idea it was her daughter emergency services were rushing to attend.
Natalie continued: "I hit the cliff underneath and then I hit the water. The doctor said I would never walk again and I went to surgery to have my legs amputated."
She explained that the accident led to her having a hole in her knee as well as pulverised ankles. Sue had only learnt of what happened at around midnight when the family were told there was a chance Natalie would not survive.
Sue added: "I was only told midnight that night, obviously because of her age and because she didn't live with me, I had a phone call saying that. We had no idea it was our Natalie. She was airlifted out, there were people from Bolton Mountain Rescue, there was all different things. We could see it all pass our stable yard and had no idea."
Natalie spent three months recovering in Preston Hospital's trauma unit where she had surgery to fit metal plating in her ankle as well as an artificial knee joint. While doctors managed to save her legs from amputation, she had to be transferred into rehabilitation to learn to walk again.
A decade later, a scar on her leg is a permanent reminder of the day she almost lost her life. Its a day, she says, that still hasn't "sunk in".
"It still hasn't really sunk it, to be honest, someone was watching over me that day and I believe it was my nan," Natalie said.
On Saturday (July 9), emergency services were called at around 9:40pm to a report a boy had entered the water and got into difficulty. A body was tragically recovered from the water at the scene following a search by emergency services.
The boy has since been identified as Jamie Lewin from Southport who has been described by his family as 'one-in-a-million'. The death of Jamie brings the latest death toll at the quarry to three, with previous deaths happening in 1999 and 2015. Now, Natalie and Sue are calling for the quarry to be drained.
"This could have been prevented," Natalie continued. "Kids are kids, if you tell them not to go, they're going to go. People think it won't happen to them, but it could happen to you.
"Its a death trap and you're going to lose your life going in there, you are, or your friends are going to die, its three [lives] now. It's a death trap, no matter how hot it is, when you hit that water its like hitting ice."
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