GRIEVING mum Bridget Hogg is to sue a council over the death of her ten-year-old daughter Naomi Sims, who slipped into a river and drowned in a sluice gate.

Naomi, ten, was testing the depth of the fast-flowing River Glyme in Woodstock with a stick when she slipped and fell in, an inquest heard.

The schoolgirl, from Bear Close in the town, was playing with friend Aude Rutter, nine, on Saturday, May 2, when she was sucked feet-first into a sluice gate. She was trapped under water for 20 minutes before firemen could free her.

Naomi's mum Bridget said she planned to sue Woodstock Town Council.

She told the inquest in Oxford: "If proper safety measures had been in place at the time my daughter might still be alive today. I am taking legal action but nothing will compensate for the loss of Naomi."

She claimed the sluice gate had not been properly maintained for a number of years, which made a rescue more difficult.

The Coroner's Court heard yesterday that Aude tried to pull Naomi out before going for help from Victoria Banbury, whose daughter lives in Glyme Close, next to the water meadows.

Mrs Banbury said: "She was face up in the river. The middle part of her body had been sucked down backwards. I grabbed her round the ankles and pulled and pulled but she was wedged." In a statement to police, Aude said: "Suddenly she slipped into the water and was sucked down into the hole. I held her hand up and tried to pull her out but the water was too strong."

Consultant pathologist Colene Bowker confirmed the cause of death as drowning. Deputy coroner Dorothy Flood recorded a verdict of accidental death.

After the inquest, town council clerk Marian Moxon said: "We are all desperately sad and feel strongly for the family. As far as the town council is concerned we have acted appropriately right from the start. Immediately after the accident the Environment Agency was commissioned to prepare a report on the condition of the water meadows.

She said it was agreed to replace the sluice gate mechanism and erect a cover around it. Warning signs have been erected.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.